Gold Awakenings
by Bella-with-the-blue-eyes
Summary: Sequel to Dreams of Gold. The Olympics are over, but the action just began. E &B are back to normal life for two Olympic gold medallists in love. Life is about to get interesting when these two move to a town near Seattle Wa. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Dreams of Gold Sequel: Gold Awakening; Preface.

A.N. I can't find the original summary so if anyone I sent it to could send it back that would be great. Here is the sequel the only difference is that Edward is 17 because the age difference seemed too big, and Mike, Lauren and the rest of the minor characters are what they are canon.

If I can get at least 15 reviews, I will post the chapter by tom. Enjoy!

Meg

I never asked for it all, but since the Olympics, I seem to be getting everything. Without trying, I held the gymnastics world's esteem, Edward's love, Alice's friendship, Carlisle's support and America's admiration.

Everything was perfect; I had everything I could ever want and more.

I knew it was too good to last, but I never thought I would have to lose every thing I held dear.

Everything that mattered to me was lost. My world was shattering into little tiny pieces, just like my heart.

It was too much to bear… no. I am the Olympic all around gold medallist, the Golden Girl, the Fighter. I was stronger than that wasn't I?


	2. The Ellen Show

Bella Pov:

18 hours, 45 minutes and 33 seconds. That's how long it's been since Edward and I said goodbye. I counted the seconds as I waited backstage, feeling jetlagged, exhausted, depressed, and underneath all the makeup, I looked like the bride of Frankenstein, the bride of Frankenstein on a bad hair day.

18 hours, 45 minutes and 33 seconds since the unbelievable, magical two weeks of excitement, elation, heartbreak, and fairytale love ended. Now I'm back to my normal life, I thought with a sigh.

Well not so normal, I amended as a stagehand informed me of my two-minute warning. Since the Olympics, a whirlwind of activity was stirring up- TV appearances, photo shoots, excited crowds, and Speedo promotions…. The list went on.

And then I was heading for the rehearsals for the 2012 Gymnastics Tour of Superstars- a huge honor. The Twisted Pink for a Cure rehearsals were coming up as well.

Ok, so not so normal. Kind of amazingly cool actually, but the only problem with all of this however is no Edward.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Edward Pov:

It had been 18 hours, 50 minutes and 21 seconds since Bella and I said goodbye.

I was sitting backstage on yet another talk show. It was insane- after the Olympics there was always a rush of publicity. It was the same after the last Olympics when I was the youngest swimmer on the American team, but after this Olympics and my quest for record-breaking golds, I was in greater demand for the talk show hosts. Bella, being the all around gold medallist and not to mention her numerous other medals after only being an elite senor gymnast for a little more than a year, was also in huge demand.

I missed Bella and couldn't wait to see her. I hadn't seen her since we both flew out of Heathrow airport.

With all of the stupid publicity things and then her tour of gymnastics superstars, it was going to be hard to find time to see each other. I watched the television screen that showed Bella on the _ELLEN SHOW_; I couldn't wait until I could see her in person.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Bella Pov: I waited nervously outside the entrance waiting or my cue.

"Now here she is. All around, beam, and floor gold medallist, uneven bar bronze medallist. The young lady who led the American team to gold and captured the world's heart, Isabella Swan."

I walked out smiling and waving shyly before Ellen Degeneres enveloped me in a hug.

"You are amazing," she told me. "And a little taller since I last saw you." We both laughed, as my 5'4" frame was still at least two inches shorter than hers. Though she had a point, last time I was here I was only like 4'9", and my feet could barely reach the floor when I sat in the chair.

We both sat down, and she turned to address the crowd as I pinned a mike onto my warm-up suit.

"Ok in honor of the Olympics and this special young lady, the entire show is going to be dedicated to Bella Swan and the Olympics, plus a special mystery guest. But before we get down to business, I just have to ask, can I see your medals?"

She turned to me, and I smiled before taking the five medals- four gold, one bronze- from around my neck and handing them to her.

"Wow!" She held them up, "Five medals! That is amazing! Can you tell me how you felt with each of them, starting with the team?" She held up the team medal and the screens placed throughout the studio closed in on the engraving.

"Um, the team medal was… wow I don't even think I can describe it. It was the first medal of the games for me, and it is so different when you win a team medal versus an individual medal. It is more of a group effort and it just says that team USA is the best!"

The crowd applauded. Ellen next held up the all-around.

"Tell me about this one. You looked so emotional up there when you were awarded this." She held up the medal to show the crowd again as a picture of me on the podium receiving my medal, clearly emotional, popped onto the screen.

I blushed as I answered. "With the individual all around medal, I was so shocked when my score came up after beam. With the way the judging was going, anything could have happened. And then when I won, I realized that I had proven myself; and I hadn't let down all of the people who count on and support me. As for how I feel for myself, I am still not sure about that. I don't think it has registered yet; it's still so dreamlike, but I do feel like the luckiest girl in the world."

"You were worried that you didn't have the gold after that routine?" With Ellen's question a highlight of my gold winning beam routine popped up.

I nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, I don't know. It was a confidence thing. When I went out there to compete, I had yet to stick that routine perfectly. And then there is the fact that each judge looks for something different. Some love innovation, and some look strictly for tradition. Some are obsessed with technicalities, and with some of the judges, if your routine is lacking in dance elements or on the opposite side, tumbles, your score could be really low. I think that is what makes gymnastics such a tough sport- you never know how a routine that you do will be judged. You could do one routine with no mistakes and receive a lower score than you would with a different routine with little mistakes."

"Oh yes that is exactly what makes gymnastics so hard," Ellen joked. "It has nothing to do with the fact that you are throwing your body in the air in ways most people can't even dream of."

I laughed. "That might have something to do with it too," I alluded with a smile.

"I know you won two other golds, but I want to hear about the bronze. I mean there are all these pretty gold medals in my hands, and then there is one bronze one. Did they mess up and send you the wrong medal?"

I covered my face with my hands as I laughed. "No. They didn't make a mistake; my routine just wasn't the best out there. Even if I had performed it perfectly. Alice Cullen's and He Kexin's routines both have slightly higher difficulty levels. And then there is the part where I almost missed the bars completely."

Ellen had me point out the part where I had almost fallen off on bars. "You almost missed that?" She asked quizzically.

I nodded. "I totally thought I was going to face plant on international television, but I caught it at the last minute and then I could breathe again."

She shook her head. "I don't see it. I will have to take your word for it. But now we are going to ask a few questions that some viewers sent in for you. The first one is from Brittany Francis from Philadelphia, Pa, your hometown. Brittany asks, 'You have been compared to everyone from Mary Lou Retton and Dominique Dawes to Shawn Johnson, and Nastia Liukin. Who would you compare yourself to?'"

"Um, Ellen Degeneres," I joked. When the crowds laughter subsided, I answered seriously. "I actually try not to compare myself to anyone else. I am just me, whether I am winning gold medals or just hanging out with friends, I am always just Bella. I think comparing yourself to someone else just adds unnecessary stress. You can never be someone else no matter how hard you try, and if you don't live up to what they accomplished, then you are forever going to be beating yourself up and never being happy with what you yourself accomplished."

"Our next question is from Taylor Thiel from Rhode Island, NY, she asks 'Are you and Alice Cullen really friends. I mean it seems hard to believe that two people always fighting for the gold can be friends.'"

"Actually Alice and I are the best of friends. She is like the sister I never had. We only really knew each other by reputations and in passing before London, but we were roommates and were practically inseparable. We don't really fight over who is the better gymnast; we both have completely different styles. Whoever wins, wins. But we do aim to go one-two, and support each other no matter the score."

"The final question from Christine Morton, from San Francisco Ca. She asks, 'How long have you been back in the States, and what have you done since you got back?'

"I actually flew back in a few hours ago, and then I hopped on a plane to come here, so I really haven't done anything except fly."

"Wow, she just got back not even three hours ago. Aren't you jetlagged?" Ellen asked.

"Um yeah, I am really beginning to feel the jetlag, but I thought coming here would be worth missing some sleep."

Ellen and the crowd 'awed.'

"Well you look really good for being jetlagged. Normally when I fly, I get off the plane looking like someone died- that someone being me, but you look great."

I laughed. "That is a testament to your makeup crew. Before they fixed my hair and put some makeup on me, I looked worse than dead."

Ellen laughed again before speaking.

"Ok, we are going to be right back after these commercials with our special mystery guest, and more of the amazing 16-year-old gymnastic phenomenon, Isabella Swan. Don't go away."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Next chapter:

I gasped as the mystery guest walked out on stage. It couldn't be, could it?


	3. Dunk tanks and chalk buckets

You guys are THE BEST READERS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! 105 reviews for two chapters! 57 for the last chapter alone! I got this chapter up as fast as I could for you, and I made it extra long almost 3,000 words not counting the a.n. You guys are amazing which is why I am posting this instead of doing one of my 6 projects due in the next 2 weeks.

Please keep reviewing they are keeping me writing. If you can match the reviews for the last chapter I will post as soon as I possibly can.

Thanks always to Nancy.

Meg

Oh and if anyone is looking for an amazing story to read check out You Found Me, by ScarletRubie.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Gold Awakenings chapter two.

"Welcome back," Ellen smiled at the audience. "If you are just tuning in, we have with us today Isabella Swan, the Olympic golden girl."

"So Bella, we know you consider yourself lucky with gymnastics, though I think there is more than luck to it, but do you consider yourself lucky in love as well?"

My face colored, and an involuntary smile rose on my face. "Actually, in that case, I think I am luckier."

Ellen smiled knowingly. "So tell us, what is it like to be the girlfriend of _the_ Edward Cullen?"

"It's amazing. He is the perfect boyfriend, but I really miss him. I haven't seen him since we flew out of Heathrow airport, and we both are going to be really busy the next few months so it's going to be hard."

Ellen's smile grew bigger, if that was even possible.

"Well in that case, let's bring out our special guest."

I gasped as the mystery guest walked out on stage. It couldn't be, could it?

"Edward!" I squealed, jumping from my seat and running towards him as the crowd roared. He caught me in his arms and spun me around, my hands resting on his shoulders and his around my waist.

"Bella, my love," Edward whispered into my hair, both of us mindless to the touched crowd.

Too quickly, he placed me on my feet. Holding hands, we walked back to our seats next to Ellen.

"Edward Cullen, ladies and gentleman. What a pair these two are. Olympic gold medallists, record breakers in both of their sports and all together amazing, and to think they are both under 18."

Since I was staring at him, I saw Edward's face flush at her praise as mine did the same.

"So Edward, we already asked Bella, but we want to know what do you think: are you lucky in love?"

Edward smiled my favorite crooked grin. "Of course I am, I mean look at her."

The crowd 'awed' again while I playfully elbowed his side. "Ham," I muttered.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

Edward Pov:

"Ham," Bella muttered, elbowing me in the side.

Ellen continued. She could have asked me anything. I was so happy here that I could stay in this spot forever as long as Bells was with me.

"I have heard rumors about what you can eat Edward. What is it, like 12,000 calories a day?" Ellen asked.

"Yeah something like that," Edward answered. "I burn a lot of calories a day, with my workouts so I need all of the carbs for energy that I can get."

"What about you Bella? You must burn a lot of calories too with all of your workouts. You can probably eat anything you want, right?"

"Um, not really. I mean gymnasts tend to have to eat really healthy all of the time and watch what they eat. I have a really strict diet, and I try to stick to it the best I can."

"Bella tends to eat a lot healthier than most gymnasts I know from Alice and my dad," Edward chipped in.

"Why is that Bella?" Ellen questioned.

"Well at 5'4" I am considered really tall for an elite gymnast, so I have to keep my weight at the minimum healthy level for my height. In gymnastics, in order to perform some of the harder moves, you have to be able to throw your body high into the air. Someone lighter goes up higher. So when you are smaller and petite, it is easier to get the height over someone who weighs more. I do cheat sometimes though. I have 'treat days' about once a month where I can eat whatever I want."

"Yeah, and you don't want to get in her way on her treat day," Edward shuddered. "The day before the closing ceremony we went out to get some pizza, and she almost took my head off for trying to eat the last piece of pizza from her large pie."

"Hey! That was after you ate two of your own pies and I was hungry," I said defensively.

Ellen laughed and changed the subject.

"Ok, so I hear that you two are the new faces for Speedo. Speedo has been sponsoring you for years, am I right Edward?" At my nod she continued.

"But Bella you are the new face of their brand new Speedo line, so tell me about it."

"Um, well Speedo decided to make a leotard line, obviously, and we are working together to create a new line called 'Bella,' standing for beautiful, not for me. It's kind of a play on words," Bella explained in her soft voice, her face blushing slightly.

I loved the fact that she still blushed at any attention as though she didn't deserve it, but she deserved more than anyone else I knew. Then again, I could be biased. I pulled myself out of my thoughts to listen to what she was saying.

"But I named it that because I think every gymnast, every athlete, and every girl even are beautiful when they do what they love best," Bella continued.

Bella began to describe the line, but it couldn't hold my attention. What held my attention was how beautiful she looked when she smiled and how sexy she looked when she unconsciously bit her lip.

'Bad, Edward,' I reproved myself. I decided to tune back into the conversation before I grabbed her and kissed her like I wanted to on national television.

"And on each one there is going to be a logo on the hip," as she said this, a leotard popped on the screen. She pointed out the symbol, which was kind of like an open heart with a star inside and Bella with the 'b' as a heart and the 'a' as a star, underneath (pic on profile).

God, when she smiled…. I was hopeless.

I forced myself to focus again as Ellen changed the subject.

"Ok, so we all know Philadelphia fans can be the best fans and the worst fans, but now they are cannibalistic fans."

Huh? What was she talking about, Bella and I shared a look.

"Well kind of. The 'Pretzel Factory' in Philadelphia has been supporting their teams for years by making pretzels into team memorabilia. This time however they created an actual pretzel version of Bella."

Bella was still looking incredulous, but I had to laugh as Ellen pulled out a pretzel model of Bella. 'Pretzel Bella' was posed like, well a pretzel. She had her leg pulled behind her head with both her hands. I would have thought that unrealistic if I hadn't seen the real Bella actually do that.

"Ok, Bella tell me what this pose is called, and can you actually do it?"

Still looking incredulous, Bella answered. "It is called a Scorpion, and yeah it's not that hard. It just looks it."

This time it was Ellen's and my turn to look incredulous, but Ellen continued on though.

"And look, she even comes with a little dough medal around her neck, and if you put a little golden mustard or cheese on it, then it becomes a gold medal!" With that she dabbed a little cheese on the medal.

"Shawn Johnson got a butter statue of herself, but I think this is better." She took a bite. " And yummier too! That is 'gold medal good!' "

Ellen handed me one of the 'gold medal Bella' pretzels. I took a bite.

"Yum!" The crowd laughed.

Ellen took another bite, and barely pausing, she announced, " We have to go to a commercial, but when we get back, Bella is going to show us what she does best."

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

Bella Pov:

I still couldn't get over the 'Bella pretzel.' It was kind of cool, but kind of disturbing too. But I pushed it out of my mind as I began to loosen my muscles during the commercial break.

I used a press handstand to test the beam, and when I was happy with the feel, I threw a basic handspring double dismount. I walked from backstage with ten seconds to go before the commercial break ended.

"We are back! And we are in for a treat, Bella Swan is going to perform for us, but first Edward…."

The crowd cheered, and Ellen had to wait for the crowd to calm down before she could continue.

"But first Edward, we didn't want you to feel left out, so we decided to let you show us what you do best too."

With her words, the giant sliding doors opened to reveal the balance beam equipment and get this, a plastic kiddie pool.

I burst into laughter along with the crowd, and then I pictured Edward trying to fit his long limbs into the tiny pool, and I laughed even harder. Soon I was laughing so hard I had tears coming down my eyes. I wasn't the only one either.

Ellen was trying to choke back her laughter to speak.

"Just kidding, but if you would we still have our dunk tank for charity. Sara Lee donates $10,000 to "Feeding America." She paused for the cheers again. "And Sara Lee has pledged that she will double that amount if you go into the dunk tank wearing a Speedo, and Speedo has generously offered to double that. So what do you say?"

"What else could I say but yes?"

"You ready to dunk him Bella?" Ellen asked me as Edward quickly changed.

"Oh, YES!" This was too good an opportunity to pass up.

I measured the distance as Edward climbed into the dunk tank.

I threw a little too lightly on my first throw. It hit the button but didn't have enough force behind it.

"Ah, you throw like a girl, Bells. Little leaguers would be making fun of you right now (ha ha Em.)," Edward taunted me.

Oh, he was going down. My next hit was dead center and I had thrown it as hard as I could, accidentally denting the knob.

It had the desired effect nonetheless. With a giant splash Edward cannoned into the water.

The crowd cheered.

"Wow, I would not want to piss her off," Ellen laughed to the crowd. "Those little leaguers might want to run. Look at her muscles."

Edward pulled himself out and dried himself off good-naturedly. Now it was my turn.

"Alright Bella, are you ready to show us some tricks?"

I smiled and nodded. I walked over to the chalk bucket. I shed the warm up suit over the leotard that I had worn for the individual competition.

Chalking my hands and my feet, I listened in to what Ellen was saying to the crowd.

"Ok, she has not done this since the beam finals in London, but before she performs her routine, she has promised to give me a gymnastics lesson."

Ready to go, I signaled to Ellen.

"Ok." I walked up to the mount. "One of the most basic mounts is called the press mount. You start out with your hands a slight bit apart and fingers spread. You slowly push your weight onto your hands until you can pull your body up to where the beam is level with the top of your hips. When you have done that, you swing a leg over until you are straddling the bar. Finally when you feel balanced, you bend your legs so you are kneeling with your feet touching. From there, you roll back onto your feet, and you are standing."

I slid off the beam and walked over to Ellen where I showed her how to chalk up in the chalk bucket.

"You ready to try?" I caught sight of Edward who had changed real quick back stage and smiled at him as I helped Ellen try the mount.

"Ok, I am going to spot her by holding onto her wrist and her hip when she mounts. This way if she begins to fall, I can catch her. You should always have a spotter when you first begin gymnastics or whenever you try a new move."

Ellen pushed off the beam and slid back down. The second time she boosted herself up but began to slide off the other side. I was holding onto her though, so she didn't fall. Giving up on any traditional mount, she used the legs of the beam to hoist herself up.

"Ok, once you get up there," I laughed at her mount. "You are going to use the end of the beam as a focus point. This will help keep you on center." I held onto her hand as she began to slowly walk forward across the beam.

"Good." I let go of her hand as she reached the end of the beam. "Now, you can either walk backward or pivot so you are facing the other way."

Ellen looked petrified, so I sprang up lightly onto the beam behind her.

"Ok, when you pivot, just turn on your back foot, like so." I pivoted gracefully, before offering her my hand.

She tried it and tilted a little, but as I had her hand, I kept her on balance.

"Do you want to try a little jump?" I asked her.

She looked nervous, but at the crowd's cheer she agreed.

"Ok, the beam is only four inches wide. That's about the palm of your hand, and when gymnasts perform a trick, they usually stack their feet. That means they stand with their feet overlapping with some of each foot on the edges. This helps when you flip to give you power and keep you on balance. But since we are just doing a small hop, you can keep your feet the way they are. You are going to used the balls of your feet to push off the beam."

I demonstrated and held on to Ellen's hands as she leapt. Next I tried an arabesque. Ellen shook her head. It looked as if she was feeling a little nervous up there. I decided to give her some mercy and help her out a little.

"Ready to dismount?"

She nodded.

"Ok, since we haven't practiced a cartwheel or any other dismount, we are going to dismount the way that we mounted. Lean down and place you hands on the beam, and then lower your body until you are again straddling the beam. Then swing you leg over and slide to the ground."

I demonstrated the basic dismount and then spotted Ellen as she got down.

She raised her arms in an exaggerated version of the salute.

I cheered and clapped along with the crowd.

"I didn't realize how high it is up there," Ellen said breathlessly to the crowd. "And there is so little room to move."

"But now it is your turn. I bet the moves you are going to do are a little harder."

"Just a little," I answered, before rechalking my hands and feet and stepping up to the beam.

I flexed my fingers, taking a deep breath, then I raised my leg and swung my body into the air.

As I flew through the air, my heart flew lighter. Edward and I had the rest of the day to spend together, and I was flying high.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

Edward Pov:

I watched Bella as she helped with Ellen, and then I stepped closer as I watched her mount the beam in her legendary mount.

I felt so happy because I knew that we had the rest of the day to spend together.

I felt as light as Bella looked as she flipped through the air.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

This is in response to one of my reviews saying that Bella as 5"4 is too tall for a gymnast. 5'4" is tall, which I did put, but it is not too tall for an awesome elite gymnast. Here are some names of some accomplished gymnasts who were 5'4" or taller, Courtney Kupet, Svetlana Khorkina and Svetlana Boginskia, and then Nastia Liukin is 5'3". It is harder for a taller gymnast, but as long as the body mass/strength ratio is good they can do just as well as the petite gymnast. It takes more work and more weight control, but it can happen. Over 5'4" is rare in elites, though you can find some in level 10, big 10 gymnastics.


	4. Supergirl

Sorry for the long wait. I have been ABSOLUTELY CRAZY BUSY, as has my beta. To make up for this, I have written almost as twice as much as I usually do. Unfortunately do to something known as an AP US history test, I will most likely not be updating until after the 9th. If you guys match the review count, I will update as soon as humanely possible.

Thanks to Nancy.

R.I.P Harry Kalas. Thanks to Gracie- you know why.

The song is Supergirl by Saving Jane. A version of this song was written for Nastia Liukin. I am using creative license to say that this version was written for Bella instead.

Meg

"Ouch, darn it!" I muttered. I stubbed my toe and ripped my costume at the same time.

Wonderful, just freaking wonderful.

"Hey, Bells!" Alice chirped. I turned a glare on her. Of course as she was my best friend, one little crestfallen look and I was pulling her into my arms for a hug and an apology.

"I'm sorry Allie, I don't know why I am in such a bad mood." I let go of her and grabbed a tissue off of the makeup table. Sitting down in the director-like chair, I dabbed at my bleeding toe. A makeup person came running up with a needle and thread and began to fix my costume. Within a minute she was done and began brushing makeup on my face.

Alice settled in the chair next to me as the beauticians descended. She gazed at me ponderingly as she idly twirled a makeup brush.

"Could it possibly be that you haven't see a certain brother of mine in four weeks?"

I just looked at her. I was missing Edward dreadfully. We hadn't seen each other since the gymnastics showing in Chicago. "You think?" I bit out sarcastically, and then after pausing, I apologized.

"I'm sorry again, God I am such a bitch."

She laughed. "You are the only girl I know who apologizes for being a bitch when she is not even acting like one. And anyway I am the same way without Jasper. Thankfully his schedule hasn't been as busy. But whatever, I just wanted to tell you that while you were getting changed, your phone rang-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence. I grabbed my phone off the table, upsetting a stack of bobby pins to do so, and sure enough there was a missed call.

I hit the callback option on my tiny juke phone and impatiently waited for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hey sexy," I joked.

"Wha…huh…" He blubbered. I giggled at his stuttering.

"I mean, hi Edward."

He recovered. "Hi, love." I smiled and felt my face blush at the same time.

"So, you called?"

"Yeah, I was calling to tell you that I thought I could make it the show."

"Thought?" I questioned, noting his use of the past tense.

"Well there's a storm in Chicago, and the flight to Philadelphia I was going to take is delayed. I am working on it though. Got to go-they just announced something about my plane. I hope to see you soon, love."

"Bye, I love you," I said, but he had already hung up.

"One minute warning until final dress rehearsal girls," one of the organizers of the show announced.

Alice and I jumped up and headed on stage.

"Hey Cinderbella!"

I turned around and saw Jonathan Horton calling me.

"Hey, Horton Hears a Who," I retorted, walking over to the gymnast.

We were partnered in the opening and closing routines and in the long months of practicing and shows, we had become close. He was like a big brother.

"Ok, we are doing a final run through. I work with you separately before group numbers," Marta Karolyi, Bela Karolyi's wife and the coordinator of the show, said in her thick Russian accent. She pulled Alice aside to run through her solo and sent the rest of us to stretch.

I ended up near the rings with Jonathon.

"You know," I said, as I leaned over my extended legs. "I always wanted to try the rings."

"Then do it," he told me. "Go on, Marta isn't looking."

I looked at him to see if he was serious or not, and then jumped up.

Jon put his hands on my waist and on the count of three, we both pushed off.

I balanced my weight on my hands and got used to the strange feel of the cold iron rings.

"You ok? I can help you down if you want," Jon asked me.

In response, I swung my body around the rings in a few skin the cats. Next I pulled my body into an introverted squat before sliding my feet into the rings with my hands. When I had both feet in, I stretched my back and extended my limbs until I was in a birdcage (so much fun to try).

I swung a few times to build up momentum for a flip when…

"Isabella, what do you think you are doing?"

I let go of the rings in surprise, I corrected my fall in the air and landed on my feet, but I was so unsettled that when I went to take a step, I wobbled a little. Thankfully Jon was there to catch my arm.

I shot him a look of thanks before turning to face a very angry Marta Karolyi.

"Bella, I expect better of you. You are big gymnast, seasoned competitor you know risks. You know better." Her Russian accent was slightly stronger than normal due to frustration.

I hung my head in shame. "I know," I sighed. "I could have gotten hurt. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Marta," Jonathon interrupted. "Bella wasn't doing anything wrong, she was just trying something new out. I was spotting her. She never does anything like this. Can you let it slip this once?"

"Jon," I started, but was interrupted by Marta.

"Ok, Bella. He has a point. Just be careful. You are too good to be injured." She patted my shoulder and walked away.

This time I went back to serious stretching, and before I knew it, rehearsals were over; it was almost time for me to do my final solo routine before the group finale.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

Bella Pov:

I peeked around the edge of the curtain, trying to find him in the crowd. I knew that even if by a slim chance the storm had abated and he had managed to get here in time, it was too dark in the stands to be able to see anyone. I gave it one more chance before I was given my cue.

I checked my costume one last time. It was the Frosted Pink with a Twist show, so I was in a pink costume. It was very pretty for being a color I wasn't too fond of.

It was deep pink and lay on one shoulder and wrapped around my torso, which left most of my back bare. There was a short, almost cheerleader-like skirt of a paler pink. I was wearing bright pink metallic tights underneath.

"Isabella Swan, Olympic gold medallist for team, all around floor, beam, and bronze medallist, accompanied by Saving Jane!"

A spotlight shone on me, highlighting not only me but the beam next to me as well. I smiled and waved waiting for the beginning strains of Supergirl by Saving Jane to come on. The drummer counted out a beat of four, and I began counting myself.

The song was written just for me. I had a theme song, how cool, I thought before counting off a beat of eight.

On the first beat of the second set, when the music began, I swung my leg and flipped my body into the beam mount now legally called the 'Swan.' I alighted from my back handspring just as the lyrics began to deafening applause. People never ceased to be amazed by that mount.

_**I'm the Life of the party, So contagious.**_

I leapt up into the air, scissoring my legs and turning my body in a 180, in a Johnson.

_**All the boys wanna to catch me,**_

_**But I'm just playin'**_

I used running leaps to travel to the end of the beam, before pivoting on my toes.

One

I paused, holding up one finger.

_**One, two, come and see what I can do,**_

I swung my leg forward and then back in an arabesque.

_**TWO**_

I paused again, holding up two fingers this time.

_**Two, three, everybody's after me.**_

I spun on one leg once one-way, the second the other.

_**Three**_

I paused for the final time, this time holding up three fingers.

_**Three, four, let me tell you what's in store**_

I James Bond rolled to the middle of the beam, and as soon as I landed on my feet, I jumped until I was sideways on the beam with my feet side-by-side.

_**Let's go, everybody on the floor,**_

I did a simple, but cool looking back tuck with a full twist, landing on the mat just as the lead singer sang the word 'floor.'

Smiling at the perfect timing, I sprang backwards into a back handspring step out.

On the layout I landed on the just on the thick aerial ribbon. I wrapped my hands securely around the two ribbons and lifted my legs into a scale.

_**I'm Supergirl.**_

The ribbon lifted me up into the air; I was flying!

I'm everywhere

_**I'm flashing lights,**_

_**They stop and stare,**_

I lowered my leg and pushed the ribbon back with my feet, simultaneously grabbing it with my hands. I stretched my body until I was extended into a bird's nest.

_**I'm fire red,**_

_**I'm on a roll,**_

I rolled my body through my arms out of the bird's nest.

I'm in your head and everybody knows

_**I'm, I'm, I'm Supergirl.**_

I pulled myself to standing and posed in the typical "Supergirl" pose.

_**I'm the perfect disaster,**_

_**You can't stop me.**_

I wrapped one leg around one side of the ribbon and leaned my body forward dangerously, extending my arms artfully. The feeling of weightlessness and soaring heights was so elating!

_**Coming faster and faster,**_

_**But you just watch me, (you just watch me)**_

I held onto the one side of the ribbon as the other was released, with one arm, the other arm flared behind me. It began twisting and winding itself as it lowered me to the ground.

_**Five**_

I jumped into a toe touch jump as I landed.

_**Five, six don't you want a little fix,**_

I fell forward into a controlled handstand.

_**Six**_

_**Countdown, get a little crazy now**_

I spun on my hands while still in the handstand before rolling down to the floor.

_**Nine**_

_**Nine, ten see me work the room and then**_

I bent my body into a floor scorpion, leaning forward on my forearms with my legs bended until they were between my arms on either side of my head.

_**Hold on ready here we go again.**_

I rocked and pulled my body into a stand from the scorpion.

_**I'm Supergirl, I'm everywhere.**_

I ran a few steps before throwing myself into a round off whip back handspring whip.

_**I'm flashing lights,**_

_**They stop and stare,**_

I did a back walkover right into a tick tock. They were simple tricks, but I ended them by going into a split.

_**I'm fire red, I'm on a roll,**_

_**I'm in your head and everybody knows….**_

I stopped near the end of the mat. Marti Dodson, the lead singer of Saving Jane came up to the mat as well. She wrapped her arm around my waist and we moved backwards to the beat.

_**I'm, I'm, I'm Supergirl. **_

When we reached the edge of the mat near the beam, she let go and began to clap to the beat. The lyrics paused and the bridge of the song repeated as I remounted the beam.

I did a press handstand mount, as soon as I was steady in my balance; I turned so that my hands were one in front of the other, still in my handstand.

_**I'm walking every wire,**_

_**Set the world on fire,**_

I walked precariously on my hands, before walking out of it.

_**No one's shining brighter,**_

I took two powered steps. I pushed off the beam and into an Arabian triple front.

I flipped once,

_**Oh!**_

Twice.

_**Oh! **_

Three times.

_**Oh!**_

_**I'm Supergirl, I'm everywhere,**_

I placed one leg on the beam and leaned backwards until my hands were on either side of my ankle.

_**I'm fire red, I'm on a roll.**_

I pulled myself up and turned so I was facing away from the beam, my leg still resting on it.

_**I'm in your head, and everybody knows, **_

I took a few steps back, before running and launching myself over the top of the beam landing on the other side.

_**I'm Supergirl, I'm everywhere,**_

I threw a back handspring step out, back layout step out, back layout.

_**Those flashing lights, **_

_**They stop and stare,**_

I lifted my leg and swung it over my head in an illusion. I added a one and a half turn instead of the normal one turn to add to the illusion of my leg turning completely over my body.

_**I'm fire red! **_

_**I'm in your head, and every body knows.**_

I flipped forward and landed on one leg, extending the other in a scale, in a Liukin. It was rare to see a Liukin performed off the beam, but I loved doing them.

_**I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm Supergirl. **_

I flipped forward in a one and a half, using the momentum of my rebound to flip backwards into a back layout with a half of twist.

_**I'm, I'm, I'm Supergirl.**_

I pulled my right leg up so it was parallel with my torso. I span one and a half times like that before sliding into a spilt.

_**I'm, I'm, I'm**_

I rolled my body still keeping my legs in the split position. Landing I tucked my right leg and leaning forward slightly, I grabbed my back leg and pulled it up to meet my arched back.

_**Supergirl!**_

I threw my head back and punched a fist into the air.

_**Supergirl!  
**_

I caught my breath for a second, before springing to my feet, smiling broadly.

God that routine went better than I thought it could, I thought to myself I met Marti on the edge of the mat with a hug.

"Wow!" I whispered.

"I know," she whispered back.

As I smiled at the crowd and waved for the last time before the finale, I thought about the last few months. As amazing as it was, I couldn't wait to go back to normal life.

Well, I thought wryly, as normal as my life ever got that is.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

Next chapter Edward and Bella FLUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sneak peek (subject to change) for my awesome, patient readers.

Edward Pov:

I grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground and threw one at her window. The romantic side of me thought this was such a good plan. The other half of me was thankful that Emmett and Jasper were nowhere near here.

I threw another one, and a second.

A window next to the room I was throwing the pebbles at opened….. SHIT!


	5. Romeo and Rocks

Ok thanks for sticking with me even though I haven't updated in over a week. As some as you know I had an AP test, and if anyone has taken or is taken AP classes they know what that means. So I decided to actually study for once and then I had my ring mass and all last week as well, so I was a little busy.

The last review count was a little sad- half of the count from previous chapters. So as incentive if I get at least 50 reviews for this chapter, I will post as soon as possible. I have already started the first bit of the second chapter sooo….

Also I got a little carried away, so the fluff will definitely be next chapter instead of this chapter. Pinky swear.

Ok you know the drill, R and R. And as always thanks to Nancy.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

I unlocked my front door, remembering to turn it twice to the left to keep the lock from sticking. Not bothering to turn on any lights, I made my way straight upstairs, and headed straight for the relaxing comfort of my room. I walked carefully, avoiding the spots in the stairs that creaked so as not to wake Renee and Phil.

Opening my door and slipping off my Uggs as soon as I walked in, I went to plop myself on my bed.

_Thwap!_

Instead of feeling the softness of my well-worn comforter, I instead landed on something that was rough and collapsed under my weight. I slid off my bed and whatever was on my bed slid off and landed on me.

My door opened, and I blinked against the sudden brightness as my overhead light was flicked on.

"Oh, Bella, I am so sorry. I forgot to move those," Renee apologized. I pulled the "those" off my head and realized that "those" were big cardboard boxes; the kind you use when you are moving.

"Oh, by the way honey, you did amazing tonight!"

I stood up and went to give my scatterbrained mother a hug. "Care to explain the boxes… and why you are all dressed up at 11:30 at night?" I questioned getting a good look at her outfit.

"Well, it's been so exciting and you've been so busy that we haven't really gotten to talk lately, but I guess now is as good a time as any," she said, sitting on the end of my bed in a box-free zone. "Um, Phil got signed by a minor league team, the Suns! We're moving to Jacksonville!"

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Edward Pov:

Stupid airport, stupid plane, stupid storm, I thought in frustration. It was 11:45 at night, and I was just now walking out onto the Philadelphia Airport's taxiway.

It was far too late to make it to Bella's show; in fact it was far too late to see her at all. I climbed into the first cab there with my hood pulled low against the cool night air.

"Where to?" The cabbie asked in a strong Philadelphian accent.

Hmmm, I thought. My first instinct would be a hotel, but my brain was moving in a different direction. It was too late to go see Bella the normal way, but maybe I could be creative.

"Where too?" The cabbie repeated. "Look, I have quota to make and if you aren't going anywhere, then you need to get out of my cab."

"Sorry," I muttered. I pulled out my phone and checked the address from the text that Bella's mother had sent me along with an invitation to a picnic. I told him the address.

"That's Northeast Philly, at least half an hour," the cabbie complained.

I threw a few twenties over the front seat and repeated the address.

"Northeast Philly it is," the cabbie said pulling out into the Friday night Philadelphia traffic.

Due to the crazy driving of the cabbie, the prescribed half hour ride took a mere twenty minutes. I climbed out of the cab as it sped off and looked up at the fairly large red-bricked twin house in front of me.

I checked the address with the number on the white screen door and walked quickly up the steps that led to the alley between the two houses.

I thought Bella had said that she was the second window, so I flipped out my phone to call her before flipping it shut again with a new plan.

I grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ground and threw one at her window. The romantic side of me thought this was such a good plan. The other half of me was thankful that Emmett and Jasper were nowhere near here. God next thing you know, I'll be standing in the rain with a boom box playing Hit Me Baby One More Time. (Lol, that's for you Ray.)

I threw another one, and a second.

A window next to the room I was throwing the pebbles at opened….. SHIT!

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

Bella Pov:

"Jacksonville?! As in Jacksonville, Florida?!" I squeaked.

"I just got the call that he was definitely signed, so I am flying out to meet him so we can look at houses. I was going to wait until tomorrow to leave, but I was able to get on a flight tonight so I have to leave in about twenty minutes."

"Wait, what? I can't leave Philadelphia, Mom. My coach is here. My gym is here. My school is here. I can't leave."

"Oh, baby. There are some really good gyms in Jacksonville, I promise. Besides think of all of the sun, and the beach."

"Mom, I'll be training-I won't be hanging out at the beach. Besides I would fry in the Florida sun," I gestured to my pale skin.

"You can run on the beach, and there is always sun block," my mom said weakly, trying to get me excited.

I felt my rarely used teenage instincts rearing their ugly heads. I stood up and crossed my arms, angrily pacing across my rug.

"I am not moving to Jacksonville! I don't care. I will find someway to stay, but I am not leaving!" I practically growled.

"Isabella Marie Swan."

Uh oh, the full name. I knew I was in trouble, but I was too angry to care.

To my surprise, she took a few deep breaths and regarded me calmly. "We will talk about this when I get back, but please honey at least consider it. I love you baby." With that she kissed my head, grabbed the pile of boxes and whisked out of the room.

"I'll call you when I land, and don't forget the picnic Sunday," she called over her shoulder.

"What picnic?" I asked, walking after her as she walked out the front door.

"I invited Esme, Alice and Edward to come for a picnic on Sunday. I should be back in time to help; all the information is on a note on the coffee table."

I rolled my eyes and stomped back upstairs before flopping onto my now cleared bed. I leaned over and plugged my iPod into its speakers and hit the play button on the remote.

Taylor Swift's Love Story came on.

_**We were both young when I first saw you, **_

_**I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standing there,**_

_**On a balcony in summer air.**_

I thought I heard footsteps outside, but I figured it was just one of my neighbors.

_**See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns,**_

_**I see you make your way through the crowd **_

_**And say hello, little did I know.**_

I lowered the music a little as I thought I heard something light hit the side of the house. I shook my head; I must be imagining things I thought as I heard nothing else for a few seconds. It was probably just my overactive imagination and being in a quiet house by myself with no screaming girls down the hall.

I turned the music back up and began to hum along.

_**That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles**_

_Thawk!_

Ok, that time I definitely heard something.

I sat up and reached over to pull my window up. I stuck my head outside to yell at whateveridiot was throwing something at my house at midnight, when I stopped dead.

Edward was throwing rocks at my window. It was so romantic and completely hilarious at the same time. It was hilarious because not only was he throwing rocks at my window, but he was throwing rocks at the window that was my mom's and Phil's.

"Hey Romeo," I called out of the window, trying to imitate my mother's voice.

Edward jumped, looking like a deer caught in headlights. He looked as if he was seriously considering jumping into the lavender bushes under my window, which by the way would have been a really bad idea since they were filled with poison ivy.

I tried to hold back a laugh as I called out again, before he did something stupid.

"I didn't know you had a thing for my mom," I said in my normal voice. In the slight light from the street lamp, I could see the relief evident on his face.

"Oh shit," he cursed, the momentary relief on his face regressing right back to his earlier panic. "I didn't wake her did I?"

I laughed. "No, she isn't here. But speaking of here, how did you get here?"

"I wanted to see you, and thanks to my flight, I missed the show. Then I was just going to see you tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to see you. I didn't think your mom would be too thrilled to see her daughter's boyfriend show up at her house at midnight, so I thought this would be a better idea. Plus I thought it would be romantic," he added defensively.

I could have been mean and teased him mercilessly, but it was kind of cute and he looked so embarrassed as it was, that I decided to be nice.

"Oh, it was very romantic. I'll be down in a second to let you in Romeo." Ok I couldn't resist that last jab. But can you blame a girl?


	6. Edward Bella time

Hey guys. The review count for the last chapter was still a little low, but I got this out as fast as I could. I would have had this up faster, but I messed up my ribs and back doing gymnastics in gym and it hurt to sit up to type. So I made a long chapter hoping to make up for it.

Now pay attention, because as usual if the review count is match or surpassed the chapter comes out faster, but as an extra surprise, the first ten reviewers get to vote on a special question for this story. Oh and I am adding one to two more chapters of fluff cause people seemed interested.

For those who pm'd me asking for a lemon. I am not going to write a lemon for this story for a few reasons. One I am not that kind of writer, though I know a lot of amazing writers are, two, there are people as young as 12 who read this story. There is a little Edward Bella time in this chapter but it is very very pg.

R and R, Thanks to Nancy,

Meg

Edward Pov:

Ok. Mini heart attack done, I began to breathe easier. Shit. I can't believe I had the wrong room. It was just luck that her mom wasn't home.

I could have saved myself so much trouble and embarrassment if I had just called her like I had originally planned to. Now she thought I was a freak, and I almost had a heart attack when I thought I was caught.

"Psst." I followed the sound of whispering until I found my angel poking her torso out of a back door.

All thoughts of embarrassment and scared shitlessness gone, I strode over to her and pulled her into my arms, kissing her firmly on her beautiful lips.

She gasped in surprise at my unexpected kiss, but quickly responded.

"Who's there?" A voice shouted out from the darkness.

"Fuck!" Bella cursed to my surprise. I didn't know she had that kind of language in her. Alice. I definitely needed to yell at my pixie of a sister for that.

"Get inside quick," she whispered.

I ducked inside the back door, and leaned in close to the slightly opened window.

"Hello Blanche," I heard Bella say. "How are you?"

"I am wonderful," I heard the woman Blanche reply. "Wonderful job at the Olympics, and I saw your amazing show tonight."

"Thank you so much, that is sweet of you," Bella said. I was still amazed at her sincerity.

"Now, what are you doing out here so late and making so much noise?" Blanche questioned suspiciously.

"Um."

Oh shit I thought Bella is a horrible liar.

"I thought I heard something out here and I came to see what it was."

I could almost feel my jaw drop. She hadn't exactly lied, but she did pull off the half-truth. God Alice really was rubbing off on her.

"Well, since its seems like there is nothing out here, I am going to go to bed. Night."

With that she slid in the back door and right into my arms.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Bella Pov:

I grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs. I pushed him into my room and closed the door.

"Nice room," he started, but I didn't let him finish.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I stretched up on my tiptoes, and kissed him.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and one went to the back of my head to tangle in my curls.

I pushed him backwards onto my bed. Still kissing him, I ran my hands along his chest until I reached the bottom of his t-shirt.

I was feeling reckless and for once I didn't want to be responsible. I wanted to be a teenager and I was going to do just that.

"Bella," he moaned, kissing my neck, breaking away from my lips so we could catch our breath.

Feeling bold, I moved to pull my t-shirt off, but Edward's hands on mine stilled my progress.

"Bella, what are you doing?"

"Kissing you silly." With that I leaned back to pull my shirt completely off, before Edward grabbed my hands and pushed me off of him. He sat up and leaned against my wall, breathing heavily.

I felt rejection welling as tears in my eyes. I looked away from him and stared at my hands, trying to keep the tears from falling.

"Bella, I thought we talked about this. We can't, we both have too much to lose if something happens. And besides, I thought we both decided to wait, if not for marriage, then at least until we were both sure we were ready. I mean don't get me wrong, I want to, I _**really **_want to, but I also don't want you to regret this in the morning."

I stood up. "Fine," I grabbed my pajamas off the edge of my bed and stormed into the bathroom, where instead of changing, I sank to the floor against the bathtub and burst into tears.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Edward Pov:

She stormed into the bathroom, and I sat still propped up against her wall trying to regulate my breathing. God she was going to be the death of me. I was always taught to be a gentleman, but every time she kissed me like that….

Thoughts like that were not helping. Trying to distract myself, I glanced around the dimly lit room. It was a decent size with pale purple walls, which were slightly darker in some places from the shadows from the bedside lamp.

Her twin-sized bed was against the wall with the windows. At the head of her bed was the radiator, which held a lamp and an alarm clock.

The purple and green designed comforter and matching rug were a little too girly for the Bella I knew, but I could see bits of her taste here and there. The bookcase was overflowing with books; many of them were classics and more than a few vampire novels. The simple desk held a closed laptop, a printer and a handful of extremely heavy looking textbooks.

Her bureaus held lime green plastic cabinets, one of which was open. I saw that it contained medical supplies such as ace bandages, band-aids, and medical tape. The free space on her bureaus, were filled with pictures. I looked closer at them. There was an autographed picture of a preteen Bella with Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. There were some more with Bella and other gymnasts, and a picture with Bella and her mom in the gym. There was only one picture where Bella wasn't in the gym. It was a picture of Bella as a toddler with a curly haired man who I knew to be Charlie watching anxiously as Bella played recklessly on monkey bars. The pictures made me realize that gymnastics was Bella's whole life.

I continued to look around. I noticed her closet was slightly ajar, and I smirked when I saw that it contained mostly leotards and warm up suits.

Lastly I looked at her walls. There was a Phillies pennant, and one that proclaimed Coyle's Dance and Gymnastics. Finally there were a few team photos from different years and events, the most recent being the Olympic team.

Done with my inventory, I looked at the clock. Bella had been gone for a while. Listening carefully, I thought I heard sobbing.

Walking out of the room, I tentatively knocked on the bathroom door. "I'll be out in a minute." I could hear Bella stifle a sob, before her heart wrenching sobs broke free again.

Not being able to stand hearing her in pain, I walked into the room. Bella was curled up on the cool tile next to the bathtub, crying.

"Oh love. Don't cry. What's wrong?" I enfolded her in my arms.

She just sobbed harder, and I held her tighter. I smoothed her hair and murmured soothingly to her until her sobs slowly stopped. I knew this wasn't just about what happened in her room. This was something more and I should have realized it before, but I was too caught up in seeing her again.

When she finally stopped crying, I didn't say anything. I just waited for her to talk first.

"Thanks."

That was all she said. I could see her bottling it all up inside again, trying to be strong.

"Bella, are you going to tell me what's wrong? I might be able to help."

"It's nothing. I'm just tired."

I just looked at her until she met my eyes.

"Um. Well it's like this." She fought the welling tears in her eyes, bit her lip and told me the whole story.

"So now I have to move, or figure out something else…. And I'm really stressed…. And I am sooo tired… and I am just freaking out. I can't be strong anymore."

She rambled on and I just let her go until she ran out of steam. I knew what it felt like after your first Olympics. And Bella was in more demand than I was after my first Olympics. It was crazy and time consuming, and you barely slept for months and it eventually caught up to you.

Plus she was moving. Her mom was uprooting her life without a care about what it would do to Bella.

"I can't believe your mom is doing that to you," I angrily stated the first thing that popped into my mind.

"No, Edward. It's not like that. She just wants to be happy. And I want her to be happy."

I was yet again amazed by her selflessness.

"There has to be something. We'll figure it out. I promise you."

I had no clue on how to fix it, but I knew I wouldn't give up until I did.

She sniffled and nodded. "Sorry for all of this," she gestured around as though to explain everything away. "I'm not normally like this, and I don't cry…ever. At least not in front of anyone."

I shook my head amazed at her yet again. "Bella, no one is perfect all of the time. It's impossible. You can't always be the strong one. Sometimes you have to let it all go, or you'll break."

She looked just as amazed at me as I was at her. "In gymnastics I've always been taught not to show emotion. It's a weakness. I don't know how to be any other way."

"That's Bella the gymnast. It's ok to be just Bella, the girl I love who is so much stronger than Bella the gymnast because she can show her emotions."

Bella just looked at me and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss me. This time the kiss wasn't passionate or ruled by hormones. It was her way of saying what she couldn't put into words.

She quickly fell asleep in my arms back in her room, but I lay awake thinking.

I knew how to fix all of her problems. It was the perfect plan. Now I just had to put it into action.


	7. Game Changer

Hey guys. Ok, I am posting this without having my beta look over it, so ignore any mistakes that I missed. This is in response to an anonymous review and one very nasty pm that I have received, whose author I won't name. I am sorry for the delay in updating lately. The only excuse I have is that I am VERY busy. Hopefully this will settle down a little in the summer. I am in 11 activities at school with honors and Ap classes. Plus I have responsibilities at home. And I do have a life. I understand that it has been awhile between updates, but there isn't anything I can do to help that. And to the reviewer, if you are going to criticize my story, at least have the guts to put who you are.

As for the person who pmed me. That was extremely uncalled for. In fact it got to the point where I am considering dropping this story thanks to your comments.

As to my other readers, thank you for your support. I am placing this question to you. If I continue this story, should I write the barbeque scene, or should I edit it out. It will be small if I do write it, so maybe put it as an outtake or just a mini chapter?

Sorry for the long a.n.

Meg

Edward Pov:

I felt sunlight warming my face. I kept my eyes closed as I luxuriated in the best sleep that I have had in awhile. Bella's warm body was pressed up against mine, her head on my arm. I sighed, and tried to fall back asleep, perfectly content.

About five seconds later, I gave up. I was awake now, and there was no way for me to fall back asleep. After years of surviving on minimum hours of sleep, and dealing with jetlag, once I woke up, I was up for good.

Resigned, I opened my eyes. And I decided that waking up to Bella was the best way to wake up. Bella's hair was fanned out behind her, her expression, peaceful. I smiled and twisted slightly to check the time.

8:09 am. I was surprised. I never sleep in that late. Remembering what was today, I gently shook Bella's shoulder. "Bella, love wake up."

"Nun uh," she mumbled.

"Yep. Come on honey, time to get up."

She blearily peaked out from her thick lashes, to look at the clock, an unconscious pout on her lips.

"We don't have to be up yet. I want to sleep," she pleaded. "Go get some breakfast or something downstairs, I just want five more minutes."

Giving in, I gently lifted her head off of my arm and got up. By the time I was at the door, she was already deep asleep. I shook my head, wondering how she did it.

Making my way down the unfamiliar stairs and into the bright, sunny kitchen, I looked around for some cereal.

Finding a box of _COOKIE CRISP, _I grabbed all the other necessary stuff and sat down to eat.

Hearing a thump at the front door, I went to see what it was. Opening the door, I looked down to find a paper, The Northeast Times. 

On the front cover was a picture of Bella from the show last night, and the headline: Bella's Back, over the subtitle: Game Changers.

I grabbed the paper and went back to eating my breakfast.

_**Philadelphia's own Isabella, Bella, Swan is back in Philadelphia today after her whirlwind tour and the London Olympics, where she won numerous gold medals in gymnastics. **_

_**But this 17-year-old wonder is more than just an amazing gymnast, she is a straight A student at 's Catholic High School for Girls in the Mayfair/Tacony section of Philadelphia. **_

_**And if being an elite athlete and a straight A student isn't enough, this accomplished teenager also volunteers at local YMCA's gymnastics courses for handicap children. This is why she is this week's GAME CHANGER. **_

_**But who truly is the girl behind the gold medals and accolades?**_

_**Is she really as perfect as all of this suggests?**_

_**The overwhelming answer, yes. **_

_**Bella Swan is every bit a champion as she seems. No one can forget the image of her and Olympic teammate Alice Cullen, as Bella comforted the other gymnast after a devastating fall. **_

_**And that's just what she does in public. America's Sweetheart is truly deserving of the name.**_

_**Teachers say she never falls behind in her honors level courses despite her lengthy absences for gymnastics events. Classmates and gym mates alike say that you would never think that she was an international elite athlete; she acts just like everyone else and is always shocked when people are awed.**_

"_**Never once since she's been here, has she ever asked for preferential treatment. She just goes along with her schedule without complaints, and always has a friendly smile," a classmate of Bella's reports.**_

"_**When she made the team for World's, everyone was so excited, she was always just the girl who did flips and stuff, and when she made the team everyone was like wow, you are **_**good.**_** But she couldn't understand why everyone was suddenly treating her differently," another says. **_

_**And her coaches. They never cease to be amazed at her work ethic, dedication, and overall kindness. **_

"_**Bella is the best volunteer we have," Tina Amato, director of the handicap gymnastics program at Bella's local 'Y', states. "She always finds time to help out the kids, even when she was training for the Olympic games, she made time to come and help out. She is endlessly patient, never giving up on the child she is helping until they have reached their goals and are leaving with a huge smile on their face." (Cont'd pg 3.)**_

I was opening to page three to continue, when Bella came downstairs in a sports bra and yoga pants. "Want to go for a run?" she asked. She grabbed a granola bar out of a box, and hopped up to sit on the counter.

She could have asked me if I wanted to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, and I couldn't have refused her. Nodding my head, I ran upstairs to change into the workout clothes I had in my bag.

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Bella Pov:

After Edward and I went for a jog, it was time to get ready for the afternoon.

Edward and I were to throw the first pitch at the Phillies game vs. the New York Mets, in the first game of the World Series.

I was so excited as I showered and changed into my worn, oversized Cole Hamel's jersey with a red cami underneath, a pair of dark red tights, and my UGGS. Blow-drying and straightening my long hair, I then applied some makeup.

Black eyeliner with white eye shadow, were put on grudgingly, but the decorative Phillies' "P" stick on, was put on with a smile.

Grabbing my purse and my beat up Phillies hat, I opened my door.

"Edward you ready?" I asked, knocking on the bathroom door.

He came out and I had to laugh. He looked so funny. His brand new Phillies jersey and hat were so obviously new, that he looked like a bandwagon fan (lol Em! You know who I mean.)

"What?" he questioned.

"You are such a fan boy," I managed to laugh at him.

He narrowed his eyes at me in an attempted glare, but he couldn't stay mad at me.

"Here." I grabbed his hat off of his head and bent the lip back a few times, and then I stepped on it, scuffing it a little.

"Hey!" he protested. But I ignored him, handing him back his hat.

"Come on. We have to get moving if we want to catch the 70."

"The 70?" he questioned.

"Yeah, Septa." When he still looked blank, I clarified. "The bus, public transportation… any of this sound familiar."

"The bus? In Philly? Are you crazy?"

I began walking downstairs, and he followed.

"Aww is big swimmer boy afraid?"

We walked outside together.

"I've heard stories about people getting killed and stuff. Can't we just drive or call a cab?"

I locked the front door and continued walking while I argued.

"A, if I borrowed my mom's car without asking, she would kill me. B, have you ever driven to South Street during a World Series game? C, the same applies to a cab, and do you know how much they would charge? And D, I have been on Septa a billion times and nothing bad has ever happened to me. You have like a billion muscles, so I think we could take anyone who messed with us. Besides nothing bad is going to happen, and if it does, I only have to be able to outrun you," I teased.

Edward glared at me, but when the bus pulled up, and I handed him a token, he boarded the bus.

I teased him relentlessly though the bus ride, but when we hopped on our transfer bus at the transfer center, it was his turn to tease.

I tripped boarding the bus, and after he caught me he returned the favor, teasing me about being the clumsiest gymnast in the world.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEdward Pov:As mad as I was about the whole Septa thing, I couldn't stay mad at her when she was so happy.

She was like a little kid in a candy store on Christmas.

She got the whole team's autograph thanks to Cole Hamel. And when we were waiting behind the dugout to throw the first pitch, she was bouncing around in a manner that reminded me of Alice at a big sale.

She really knew what she was talking about too. She wasn't just drooling over the baseball players like a lot of girls I know.

These little things that I found out about her made me love her even more.

I wasn't able to relax until I got a text from Alice confirming what I thought I knew, but after that I was almost as excited as Bella.

The game was close, a nail biter. It went into extra innings, where finally Raul Ibanez hit a homerun with three on base.

Bella couldn't have been any happier, and as silly as it sounds, neither could I.

_**The plan will be revealed in good time, so be patient. **_

_**Meg**_


	8. Pregnant Picnic

I want to thank all of the people who supported me, this chapter is for you. You people are amazing and so sweet. I would send you all Edward's or Jacobs if I could. I would have posted this yesterday, but my computer wasn't letting me upload it.

I start work tom and I have exams this week so you probably won't hear from me until Friday- I'll try for earlier, but no promises. So enjoy the chapter. There are two or three hints to the plan in the story, so if anyone can guess it (Leah and Em don't count,) then I will give them a surprise.

R and R. Reviews are still slipping a little. Thanks again to Nancy.

Meg

Bella Pov:

I was going crazy… literally. Edward had gone home the night before, since Renee was supposed to be home on an early flight. So I awoke this morning thinking my mom would already be home.

Instead all I got was a phone message saying that she had missed her flight and wouldn't be in until about 12. So I had to get everything for the picnic ready myself, including cooking all of the food.

I was currently digging through the refrigerator trying to see if we had everything we needed. Basically we had nothing but the ketchup and the mustard. We did have a grocery list under Renee's to do list on the fridge. But in her typical scatterbrained manner, my mother seemed to have forgotten to get the actual groceries.

I grabbed the spare keys to my mom's Kia, and drove to the block or two to Pathmark.

Walking fast to beat the clock and avoid the is-she-who-I-think-she-is stares, I grabbed everything on the list, including a few extras.

When I unloaded everything it was already 11:20, and everyone was arriving at 12:30.

Sending a quick text message to Edward, I started cutting up carrots, celery and onions for macaroni salad.

About twenty minutes later, my favorite person in the world showed up.

"Hey love. What can I do to help?"

I turned around and he laughed. I picked up a spoon to check my reflection and had to join in his laughter.

I had powdered sugar from making dessert on my face, and my hair was straggling out of my flip ponytail.

"Um. Well I have to start the grill, and I have to finish the stuff here and I still haven't changed or even worked out this morning."

Edward put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me.

"Now, I will handle the grilling stuff. You can work on the inside stuff, and we'll meet back here."

I smiled at his enthusiasm, and handed him a tray of the food to grill.

"I'll bring out the corn on the cobs and the peppers in a little," I told him.

Thanks to Edward's help, everything was done when the doorbell rang.

I ran to the door and let in Esme, Alice, and Jasper. I had barely closed the door when my mother pulled up in a cab.

"Bella, baby. I am so sorry that I am late. I couldn't help it."

"It's ok mom," I said from beneath her bone-crushing hug. I could never stay mad at her no matter what, she was my mom.

By the time I had escaped her hug, the doorbell had rang yet again. Emmett, Edward and Alice's close cousin, and his wife Rosalie- yes the Rosalie who had called me a shrimp- came in.

Emmett picked me up in a huge bear hug, despite the fact that we barely knew each other.

"Finally Edward has a good girl!" Emmett said as he smashed me even more.

"Emmett, can't breathe," I gasped. When he released me I was smiling though. I already liked the giant teddy bear of a weightlifter.

Rosalie however stood back slightly awkwardly.

"Rosie, don't you have something to say?" Emmett questioned his wife, though the stern tone of voice was slightly ruined by the adoring look on his face.

"I am sorry for being rude to you on the plane," she mumbled, so that I could barely hear her.

"Rose, it doesn't count if it's not audible," Emmett scolded playfully.

"Nah, it's ok. It's forgotten." I gave Rosalie my best smile, and she returned it.

"You know you aren't that short," she joked. "You are at least four inches taller than Alice."

"Hey! I heard that," Alice shouted from the kitchen.

Everyone laughed, and all of the tension was forgotten.

"Where is Edward?" Esme questioned.

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Edward Pov:

I arrived at Bella's house earlier after an anxious text message.

I rang the doorbell, but no one answered, so I twisted the knob and found it unlocked. Walking in, I headed straight to the kitchen where I heard Bella muttering something.

I laughed as I saw her. She was covered with what I thought to be powdered sugar, her hair was in straggles, and she was wearing an apron that said, "Kiss the cook." So I did just that.

After greeting me, she quickly put me to work.

I grilled the seemingly never-ending selection of food before I was finally finished. Carrying in the last load, I walked into the house just as I heard my mother ask where I was.

"Hi, Mom."

"Edward!" She smiled hugely and moved to hug me.

Over my mother's head, I nodded to the rest of my family and Bella's mother, who were now seated throughout the living room. Bella was running around grabbing drinks for everyone.

"Rosie can we tell them now?" I heard Emmett ask.

"Tell us what?" Alice, who could smell gossip a mile away, perked up.

"Well…" Emmett looked at Esme. "Since my parents died, you and Carlisle have been the closest things that I had. So we wanted to tell you first…."

"We're pregnant," Emmett and Rosalie said together.

The next few moments were filled with excited squeals and hugs from the women and awkward 'manly' congratulations and back pats from Jasper and I.

Eventually everyone settled down enough to remember that there was a ton of food waiting for us.

Through the bedlam of people grabbing food left and right- well more like Emmett grabbing food, the rest of us had some manners; I managed to pull Alice aside.

"Where is Dad?" I asked, thinking I already knew the answer.

"He's at the new gym."

I smiled. "And it all worked out."

She just gave me a look. "Of course it worked out Edward. Everything is going perfectly, and Carlisle called him yesterday."

I smiled again triumphantly. Now there were just two more kinks in the plan to work out, and their names were Renee and Bella. I was pretty confident Bella would be up for it, but Renee….

"I'll handle Renee today," Alice said, as though she knew what I was going to say before I said it.

Now to lay the groundwork with Bella.

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Bella Pov:

Ugh I was so stuffed. It was my treat day, but I think I ate like three times my weight in food and that is not good any day.

I was currently snuggled next to Edward under blankets on the long trampoline in my backyard.

The circular trampoline with a net, held a cd player that was playing a mixed cd of Alice's.

I saw Alice come out of the house and plop herself down next to Jasper. Strangely she gave Edward a thumbs up and a wink as she did.

Esme and my Mom were inside along with the pregnant Rosalie. Emmett was by her side, as though he would never leave it again. It was so cute, the two of them together.

I snuggled in closer to Edward to ward off the crisp fall night air.

"So, Bella. Have you come up with any ideas on what to do about the Jacksonville thing?" Edward asked me.

I groaned. I didn't want to think about this.

"Well, at first I thought that maybe I could board with the gym, but they don't offer that to their gymnasts, not even to their elite gymnasts like some gyms do. The only coach who would have considered that was the original owner, but she retired last year and is just a shareholder now. So that's out, and there is no way that Renee would let me emancipate myself and live here alone so that's out. My only other options are to move in with Charlie, or go with Renee. And since there are no gyms in Forks, Washington, I guess it's hello Florida," I ranted.

Alice then changed the subject, but my mind was trying to grasp a solution. Something I had just said had jarred a half-formed thought. Hmm there were no gyms in Forks Washington, but…

You could almost see the light bulb over my head light up. Maybe not all was lost to the sunny beaches of Jacksonville Florida.


	9. Surprise

Ok, thanks to the reviewers and congrats to those who figured it out. I am sorry for any mistakes in this chapter. I didn't get a chance to send it to my beta or look over it well myself because I am posting quickly in response to a review I received:

From: your mum(no pun intendid) ()

hi please updTE Beafore 8 tonight im a single mother AND im just about  
ripping my hair out because my kids wont go to sleep without the next chapter  
please please please!

So "your mum," can stop pulling her hair out because I got this up in less than an hour from getting this so, I hope this helps. By the way- this is the best review I have ever received pm me and tell me if they like it.

Next chapter will be a lead up to drama, so review and I'll get it out asap.

Meg

Forks, Washington, one of the rainiest places in the entire world, smack dab in the Olympic Peninsula. Population… well lets just say that it's not Philly.

So why was I even going there? Simple. I was a fighter and I was going to exhaust all of my options before being forced to move to Jacksonville with my Mom and Phil.

My objective this weekend? Check out all the gyms in the Seattle area that had elite standards. That made a total of two gyms. And if that failed, then it was on to Jacksonville.

I could feel my hopes slipping as the five hour plane ride dragged on.

Forks or Florida, neither option was ideal. I already knew I wasn't a big fan of Forks. I had summered there with Charlie every year until I was 8. Then it was gymnastics all the time, and Charlie would come up to Philadelphia for a few weeks.

What I didn't know was why I was so against Florida. I mean I love the sun and the beach, so I couldn't figure out exactly why I couldn't stand the thought of living there.

Trying to shake off the negative thoughts, I begrudgingly took out some schoolbooks to work through my assigned work. Even though I attended regular school normally, I had been excused since the training camp before the Olympics. Well by excused, I didn't have to attend classes. For the time being, I had assigned work and a tutor if I needed help.

I sat down to work on some chemistry, and quickly gave up on trying to figure out what the hell Stoichiometry was. I began doodling on the paper, as my mind traveled to other considerations I had to keep in mind.

That was another consideration. School. I needed to find a school that would work with my training and competing schedule and give me enough electives for my training so I could graduate.

These thoughts carried me the rest of the trip, and I even got a little bit of work done. By the time I landed though, I was not in a good mood.

I put on a happy mask for Charlie though. After all, it wasn't very often that I saw my father.

"Bella, honey, how are you?" Charlie asked, engulfing me in an awkward hug.

"I'm good dad, how are you?" I responded when he released me, and I could breathe again.

I threw my duffle bag and backpack in the trunk of his police cruiser, and then slipped into the passenger seat.

Once there, the disturbing unusual sight of a whistling Charlie met me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, I'm just excited to see my baby girl is all," Charlie replied. But the smug Cheshire Cat grin gave it away. He was hiding something and I was going to find out what it was.

Charlie turned the radio to a country station. I shuddered, before plugging my headphones in. I stared out the window during the hour drive. I wasn't looking at anything in particular as the trees and cars flew by.

I began to notice the familiar signs that we were close to the house. When we hit the traffic light across from the diner, I was expecting him to turn right.

Instead he turned left, and I sat up straighter, a puzzled look on my face.

"Um Char… I mean Dad? Did you move or something?"

"No, Bells. Why?"

"Cause I thought the house was that way," I pointed to the right.

"It is honey, it is," he laughed. "But I thought I would take you to the gym instead."

"I thought the only gyms were in Seattle," I stated. "So yet again, wouldn't we be going that way?"

"They just opened up a new gym here," Charlie answered.

"Oh," I said. Meanwhile I was thinking that it was probably a kiddie tumbling place, but I would go and look at it for Charlie's sake. I wondered if this was what had him so excited cause if it was I was signing him up for Eharmony tonight. He needed someone.

When we pulled up a dirt road, and into a parking lot, my mouth dropped open in shock.

There was a huge building in front of me labeled "Main Gym." There were a few other buildings scattered about, the one closest from here labeled "Indoor Track." I could also see a an outdoor pool with lap separators, a football field-sized area of grass surrounded by bleachers, and a trailhead that stated "Outdoor Running Track."

This wasn't a gymnastics gym, this was a gymnastics city. I noted the name of the gym, Gold Gymnastics.

I was impressed, but I knew that all of the buildings and impressive setups didn't mean anything when it came to the quality of a gym. Well, they were important, but the coaching and the equipment inside were more important.

I walked in the front doors, held open for me by Charlie, and looked around in appreciation.

All of the newest training equipment and apparatuses, were strategically placed around the enormous gym. I saw more than one foam pit, and at least two floor areas, as well as groupings of all of the other apparatuses.

I breathed in the familiar gym smell, a combination of aromas that I couldn't describe. There were a few other smells mixed in, like new paint, and cleaning supplies.

The gym was empty, and when I looked back to ask Charlie where the main office was, I was surprised to see he was gone too.

Unable to help myself, I walked over to the nearest balance beam. I pressed my hands on it and swung up to straddle it, testing its feel.

From this vantage point, I caught sight of something on the wall.

A wall of fame. Sliding lightly off the balance beam, I walked toward the wall.

The first picture was of the 2012 Worlds team, then one of the current Olympic team. Finally there were pictures of Alice and I.

I paused for a second, before it began to dawn on me.

Before I reached the obvious conclusion, hands slid around my eyes.

Reacting instinctively, I whirled and centered my weight low. Using a combination of my momentum and their body weight, I threw whoever was holding onto to me over my body.

Looking down, I laughed when I saw who it was. And then placed a hand over my mouth.

"Bella! That was awesome! You should have seen the look on his face," my pixie-like best friend squealed.

"Oops?" I held out my hand to Edward to help him up.

He pulled me into his arms and I knew I was forgiven.

"So what is this?" I was so shocked that I couldn't take it all in.

"Well," Alice said, stealing me out from Edward's arms and pulling me toward a door labeled office. "Carlisle opened a gym here."

"That's stating the obvious, darling." This time it was Carlisle who shocked me.

"Wonderful to see you Bella," he said, before picking up where Alice had left off. "I had been looking around to open a new gym for the last few years, and I thought that it was a shame that area's like Seattle and the rest of the United States are lacking in elite gyms, where the south has more because of the weather. So I looked around and found this place and then when I heard about your trouble, it just seemed to work out perfectly."

It was a lot to take in.

"I…"

"We worked it all out with your mom, and she is shipping most of your stuff here. That I if you want to stay," Edward said.

"This is perfect! It's just so hard to believe," I laughed.

"You can either board here, or at your house. Either way, you get the family rate, Bella," Carlisle told me magnanimously.

"Um, I think I'll stay with Charlie," I said, and was rewarded by a beaming smile from my thus far silent dad.

"And of course you can sleep over in my room any time you want!" Alice chirped in.

"Ok, Bella. Well I will give you the run through on everything tomorrow, but right now, I bet you and Alice want to go test out the equipment," Carlisle stated, but before he could finish Alice and I were already out the office door.

Since I was in sweats and a tank under my sweatshirt, I paused only to stretch a little, before bouncing straight onto the running trampoline, and into a double twisting double.

I was flying so high. There was still a few things to work out, but it was like a happily ever after. My happily ever after.


	10. Back to school

Hey guys. I am sorry for the wait. I was dealing with some family stuff and a family death so it's been kind of tough for me to write. If there is anyone still reading and reviewing, I promise I will update as soon as I can with the next chapter. I have already started it, so hopefully I can get it out quick. Anyway enjoy, and if there is anyone still reading, review please.

Thanks to Nancy who has outdone herself with editing again!

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I woke up with a huge smile on my face. Despite the clouds and lack of sun, I was feeling as light as air. Everything had worked out perfectly. My mom was shipping over the rest of my stuff today and she had already sent most of it without me knowing. Everything was already worked out with the education board, and I was good to go with my training and education credits.

I pulled myself out of bed before my alarm clock rang- a rarity in itself. I bounced through my morning routine, knowing that the quicker I got to school the quicker I could see Edward. Oh new school.

It was right then that the butterflies kicked in with a vengeance. I may be an Elite gold medal winning, World traveling Olympic gymnast and competitor, but I was not good with the whole socializing thing.

I could compete in international nerve breaking competitions with barely breaking a sweat, but have my shy self have to go and talk to random strangers, especially when they expect me to be outgoing? Uh uh not going to happen.

I shook off my nerves and visualized like I did in gymnastic competitions and grabbed a bowl of cereal and the paper that Charlie had left on the table before he left.

The headline of the first page of _Seattle Tribune _caught my attention.

Olympic Peninsula Olympians

Five Olympians, three present, two past have converged on a small rainy town near Seattle. Forks, Wa, is now home to Carlisle, Esme, Edward and Alice Cullen, as well as Isabella Swan. All are notable medallists from Olympic games, the three most notable from the recent 2012 summer games in London, England, where Carlisle and Esme Cullen coached the women's gymnastic team to a team gold.

"I decided to open up a new gym in an area where there are very few Elite level training centers," Carlisle said in a recent interview. "This is in hope for a widening of the target area for American gymnastics. I hope to build up more gymnasts in a new state of the art training center, and Forks seemed to fall as the perfect location."

Indeed his new training center has already drawn the interest of many elite gymnasts as well as some up and coming Juniors.

His family, unsurprisingly followed, with Alice continuing to train with her father, and Edward to train with his private coach who is moving along with the family.

There has been no rumors as to why Swan has moved to this small town, but one might speculate it has something to do with the coaching of Carlisle, or the camaraderie she and Alice had reportedly developed as training partners. One might even go more personal and say it might have something to do with the fact that she and Edward Cullen are still going strong since the Olympic games.

Either way, it can be said that the Olympic Peninsula is living up to its name.

Sighing, I put the newspaper down and was curious when an envelope addressed to me fell out of the folded pages.

Intrigued, I opened it.

_Isabella,_ it read.

I LOVE you. I have loved you since I saw you compete at Worlds. You are the Greatest gymnast in the whole world and the Olympics just proved that.

_You are also the most beautiful gymnast. None of the other girls can compete with you in beauty. You are my angel, and I want to meet you. _

_Please email me or IM me, my addresses are enclosed. __ , and __. _

_Faithfully and irrevocably in love with you,_

_Your Secret Admirer._

Creepy! I thought. But I quickly shook it off. I was used to getting creepy and perverted comments on my website and in fanmail. It was a little more disconcerting that it was addressed to me here, but I figured it was just harmless. I trashed it, quickly forgetting about it as I walked out the door to my new, well new to me, truck.

It was a welcome home present from Charlie, and I loved it. Its bulbous cab was remnant of the fifties. Which Charlie tells me was when it was made; though the son of the friend he had bought it from had completely rebuilt the engine. Although it had obviously been cleaned, it still smelled faintly of tobacco and something that I couldn't identify.

The only drawback was that it couldn't go faster than fifty, although that wasn't too bad. I never liked to go too fast anyway. I didn't want to risk injury. Edward was a little disappointed yesterday when we took it for a test drive. He was used to his Volvo, which he liked to drive just a bit beyond the speed limit. And by a bit I mean a good 20 to 30 miles per hour over. So just to annoy him, I drove even slower. The radio worked surprisingly well, which was an unexpected plus.

As lost as I was in my thoughts, I almost missed the exit for the school. It didn't help that Forks' high school didn't exactly resemble what the typical high school looks like. There was none of the feel of an institution, or even the gothic feel of private schools.

Instead it was a collection of buildings that had letters painted on the side.

I followed the painted arrows to the building that stated "Main Office" on its side. I was early, but there were still a good number of cars and people huddled outside. I dreaded getting out of my warm car and through the throngs of people, but I knew that I didn't have much choice.

I was already attracting attention and pointed fingers as people tried to figure out how they knew my face.

Luckily before I gathered enough courage to get out of my car, another car pulled up beside me.

It was a silver Volvo. Edward!

I grabbed my bag from the cab and turned off the loudly rumbling engine. Before I could open the door, he was already there opening it for me in one of his disconcertingly fast moves.

"Hello love," he said, pecking me on the cheek.

I just smiled and tip toed up to get another kiss.

Together we walked into the main office and gave the poor woman at the desk a start.

She was so flustered giving us our papers and stuff that it made me flustered too. What was it that people expected of us?

Edward noticed my growing agitation and pulled me off to the side while the secretary dug through a pile of papers trying to find our rosters.

"Are you ok?" he questioned.

"It's just she's acting like we are celebrities or something and it's kind of unnerving. We are just normal people like everyone else. Plus she is wearing a purple t-shirt and that's making me feel really overdressed," I rambled, gesturing to the tunic-like shirt and leggings that Alice had 'convinced' me to wear.

"Bella, chill. And the thing is, we are kind of celebrities. Sports celebrities. But she is just excited. No one is going to treat us different and if they do, it's only until they get to know the real us. Trust me, I've done this whole new school thing before. Second thing, you are far from normal, you are extraordinary, although I might just be biased, Nah. And as for your outfit, I think it's sexy," he fake growled, causing me to giggle.

"Here you are my dears," the woman said drawing our attention back to her. She held out a few papers to us and told us that we were to get the slips signed by each of our teachers and bring them back before we left for training.

We turned to go when she called us back.

"Would you mind?" She held out another piece of paper and a pen. With an embarrassed smile, I took it and scribbled my autograph for her. Edward did the same after me, and we finally headed out to our new classes.


	11. Kickin' Chickens

This is for my lovely readers. You guys are the best in the world! Keep R and R ing. I will try to post the next chapter by Thurs. As a treat first five get a sneak peek to the next chapter.

Meg

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Edward Pov:

"Everybody is staring," Bella muttered to me as we made our way to building four. It was true, people were even taking out their cell phones to get shots of us, though I kind of thought that had more to do with Bella than me.

"Not everyone is staring," I said. "That guy isn't." I pointed at a guy with curly hair. "Never mind, he just looked."

She glared at me again, but I knew it didn't mean anything. I put my arm around her.

We finally made it to our first class, English, and got our slips signed by the teacher, Ms. Amato.

Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the back row to avoid the rest of the class. She was so nervous about everyone. It was kind of cute, and to be honest a little annoying.

Not in the way that she annoyed me, but in the fact that she was so amazing and just couldn't see it.

I shook off my thoughts as a blond spikey haired boy came over and began chatting up my Bella.

"So," he was saying. "I know you are new here, so if you want someone to show you around, I could help." All the while he was staring at her extremely well muscled thighs with an expression that I really didn't like.

Of course Bella was completely oblivious to his flirting.

"That's really sweet, Mike," she muttered a blush gracing her cheeks.

"But she doesn't need it," I cut in. I admit it was a little rude, but he was looking at her like he was a dog in heat.

I held out my hand. "Edward Cullen, her _boyfriend,_" I said emphasizing the boyfriend part.

He walked away in a huff, but not before winking at Bella.

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Bella Pov:

"What the hell, Edward?" I whispered as the teacher called the class to order.

"What!? He was looking at you funny. It was like he wanted to eat you or something," he rigorously defended himself.

"What Mike? He is harmless!" I whisper protested, as the teacher looked our way. I looked down at my paper and began to look like I was studiously taking notes.

It was kind of funny. Edward was jealous of that kid Mike. He was harmless. In fact he kind of reminded me of a puppy dog. Maybe a golden retriever, yeah, a golden retriever I decided.

I glanced over at Edward out of the corner of my eye. Jealousy became him, I decided. He was obviously frustrated and kept running a hand through his already messy hair, making it ever messier, and in my opinion, hotter.

Before I could get lost in staring at Edward- an occupational hazard of being his girlfriend, the teacher called on me to answer a question on Tess of the D'Ubervilles (ha ha kaity, that's for you).

Luckily for me, I had already read it and knew the answer.

The rest of the class passed quickly and before I knew it, I was heading to Algebra II. Edward was taking Trig/Pre Calc, so we had to split up, but my new friend Mike Newton showed me the way.

Math moved extremely slowly as it always did, but Ap American History sped by thanks to the teacher. Before I knew it, I was in Biology and next to Edward again.

We were studying flat worms, which was something that both Edward and I had already studied, so we spent the 45 minutes passing notes.

That class flew by the fastest, and suddenly my school day was over. I threw some books in my locker, said goodbye to Edward, and climbed into my ancient truck.

I ate a sandwich and an apple while I drove. I planned to eat in the cafeteria most days, but I couldn't wait to get to the gym, so I skipped it. I saved my orange for an energy boost later.

I made it to the gym in no time, and changed into a sleeveless electric green leotard and shorts so quickly I could have given Superman a run for his money.

I was excited to start training with Carlisle again. He had given me a tour of the facilities the day before, and it was…amazing! If he had helped me improve just during the Olympics, I could hardly imagine how much better I could be by training with him everyday.

"Ah, Bella," Carlisle said spotting me. "I'm glad you are here. And early too." He smirked at the all too obvious grin on my face. "Go stretch and then join warm-ups."

I grabbed a place on one of the 'floor' parts and commenced with stretching my muscles.

"Hey, Bella!" I looked up from my stretch, where I was leaning on my forearms, my legs bent and back arched so that my toes touched my head.

It was Alice. "Hey Allie! How come you are so late?"

"Well," and she leaned closer. "I am going to be on Dancing with the Stars! I just signed the papers and all of that shebang. How cool is that?!" she squealed.

"Cool," I answered. "I didn't even know you were looking at it."

"I wasn't sure…" she began, but got cut off.

"Bella! Alice! Quit chatting and get over here," Carlisle called to us.

Chagrined, we jumped up and walked over to him. "These girls are looking at the gym, and then the Seattle University gymnastics team will be training here with us," he gestured to a group of girls. Some had to be in their late teens, early twenties who were all wearing the same leotard, so I took them to be the college girls; then there were some girls in their preteens and teens, whom I figured to be juniors. And finally there were three or four girls whom I recognized to be senior elites. I knew their faces, but not all of their names.

"All right," he called out to everyone. "Two mile run, then scissor runs until I say stop."

We headed as a group to the indoor track in the connecting building. I started out running leisurely, feeling my muscles warm up and the blood start pumping. By the time we had been three quarters of the way around the track for the first time, I had made my way from the back of the pack to the very front; even Alice was behind me.

Normally I wasn't much one for running. I mean I had to run a lot to keep in shape during training, but I rarely ever ran for the fun of it. But I could feel the energy running through me, just begging to be burnt off, so I ran, and I ran hard.

I was the first one done the two mile warm up; I grabbed my water bottle as I walked back to the floor mat.

By the time everyone else had joined me, I was no longer out of breath.

"Ladies, time for scissor runs," Esme ordered.

I smiled as I went past her in the line of girls doing what we not-so-fondly called kickin' chickens. She was in coach mode though, and only spared a brief smile before reprimanding one of the other girls for their form.

"Brittany, quicker switches, we are not in slow motion…. Jackie, point your toes, are you a gymnast or a lumberjack? Tanya, lift those legs, you are supposed to be doing scissor runs, and not I am going for a walk in the park runs."

Alice and I exchanged a look. Esme seemed so sweet, but slack off in workouts, and damn she was scary.

When I was about to call animal abuse for all of the imaginary chickens we were kicking, not to mention child services for us, we were allowed to stop.

Following that was a series of group stretches. Finally we were split into groups for different strength trainings and muscle memory training.

Alice and I were with four other elites assigned to stay at the floor with Esme.

"Good, backward somersault straight to your handstand. Walk out into backward somersault. Good, watch your forms. Alice point your toes a little more, Bella watch it you are arching your back a little too much."

"She is such a good coach, isn't she?" I asked the girl next to me as Esme had Alice and two of the other girls go through a series of tumbles. I thought her name was Jackie, and she was just 15 and had just qualified for senior from the junior level.

"She's a hard coach!" she exclaimed. "God my muscles are sore, and why do we have to do so many of these? Some of these are baby moves. Can't we just work on our routines?"

"Trust me, these will make you a lot stronger and make your form so much better. Then you will be able to do harder moves, and the moves you already do will become easier for you. Welcome to the senior level," I told her, stepping forward to try the combination.

"Reverse cartwheel, back handspring into toe touch, good Bella," Esme called.

We did a few more of those combinations, whip into a handstand into a limber, and a few more.

The final thing we did was to work just the tumbling passes in our routines before we worked our routines over separately.

"Don't strain it today, just let it flow and don't gun any of the moves. Feel them as you work them. Feel how your body moves through them. Anticipate the landing and spot when you can."

From the floor, we moved onto the vault, where it was the same. Work on form then, moves.

I had a small break between vault and the bars, so I grabbed my orange and a granola bar for an extra boost.

"Fattie," I heard a voice say. It was this girl Tanya. An elite like myself. Due to a bad back injury she had been out of contention for the Olympics, and it seemed that her back wasn't the only thing broken.

Her attitude seemed to be broken as well. The whole day she had been shooting daggers and comments at me left and right for no reason.

"God, she is such a pudgebag," she continued as if I couldn't hear her talking about me from three feet away. "It's a wonder, she can get her fat ass in the air long enough to do any tricks."

I ignored her, walking off with my head held high. I had long ago made peace with my unusual, for gymnasts anyway, body type. For a gymnast I was tall, and actually if you ask most doctors/coaches, I was a little on the thin side for my muscle tone and height. So I wasn't going to let anyone make me lose my hard earned good body image. I made my way to the uneven bars where the story followed the same line as the rest of the day.

Chin ups led to pull ups, which in turn led to pirouetting exercises. As with the other two apparatuses, the last thing I did was work on my release moves before completing my full routine. Already I was beginning to feel a difference with the new training regiment that Carlisle was implementing here.

It was a little different then I, or anyone here was used to, but it made definite improvements.

My form was improving and I was analyzing each move as I performed it differently. Moat of the time overanalyzation could be detrimental, bad, and even dangerous in competitive gymnastics. But this was just another form of muscle memory.

The final apparatus that I worked on was beam.

"Flitter, flitter, flitter. Good. Point your toes a little more," Elizabeth, the beam coach called out.

I made mini jumps, switching my legs in the air while pointing my toes and only tightening my muscles until it seemed only my feet were switching.

Halfway through, a door opened, and I caught sight of Edward on the balcony overlooking the arena.

His hair was wet, and he was in a warm up suit, so I figured he was taking a break from training. I smiled and winked as he waved at me.

"Bella! Concentrate!" Carlisle snapped walking past. Properly chastised I fixed my attention to what I was doing, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Carlisle berating Edward.


	12. Lucy I'm Home

I am posting this quickly for my amazing readers. I promised I would have a chapter up by today, so yay! Here it is. I also finally managed to put some of the leotards and outfits from dreams of gold on photobucket- link on my profile, for real this time. I will be adding stuff from this story as we go along, so if you want pictures take a look.

Also I want to address something. It came to my notice that I have been a bit picky with my reviews. I apologize and would like to explain. The reason I have been asking for more reviews is that in the beginning of this story, I was getting double almost triple the review counts than I have gotten for the last few chapters. I just wanted to know if people were losing interest or not, so I apologize. I ask that people still review, because it does help, and I have made some really good friends thanks to some people's kind reviews.

Anyway on to the story. Thanks to my beta for getting this to me so quickly. Oh and some people commented on the continuing fluff, I couldn't help myself with the fluff, but the drama is coming soon. R and R.

Meg

I continued working on beam until Carlisle called us over.

"Good job today ladies. Now free time to work on whatever you want."

Most of the girls headed off in groups, but I went by myself to the foam pit. There were a few moves I wanted to work on, and I thought I might be able to add an extra twist to one of my tumbles.

"Bella, can you come here for a second?"

I looked up. It was about an hour later, and most of the other girls I was training with had gone. Most complained about sore muscles, and Alice squealed about going shopping for dance clothes, or something along that line.

I had decided to stay though, and now the gym was being filled with some little kids for their lesson with Carlisle. They were gathered around the trampoline across from where I was.

"Sure." I made my way over, smiling at the whispering, giggling little kids.

"Can you demonstrate a little? I wouldn't ask, but I am a little short on my help today," Carlisle asked me.

"Of course," I beamed. "I love helping with training and stuff."

"All right can you show a back handspring?"

I stepped up to the trampoline and bounced a few times to get used to the feel.

"Watch her form girls."

I tightened my muscles and pushed off, using my momentum to spring myself backwards into the air. I arched my back and used my hands to push off the mat once they got close enough to touch.

I landed feet together and arms flared, ingrained from years of practice.

"Beautiful Bella," Carlisle complimented. He then began to point out each position I held my body in and had me demonstrate the positions without actually completing the move.

Next he had me show them a layout, and went through the motions for that.

"Those of you who master the handspring today will work on a layout, and then if I say so, work on making them into a combination."

He gestured to me, and I demonstrated.

He then let the girls try the back handspring one at a time, with him doing most of the lifting to get them into the air.

I stayed to watch, and help if I could, and ended up near the back.

There was a little girl there who looked petrified to try anything. Immediately I felt my heart go out to her. She kind of reminded me of myself when I was little.

"Hi, I'm Bella," I told her. "What is your name?"

Her eyes widened. "I know who you are," she whispered shyly. "I'm Nessie." She whispered it all so low that I could barely hear.

"Nessie, that's a pretty name," I tried.

"Nessie, it's your turn. Would you like to try?" Carlisle asked kindly.

She quickly shook her head and blushed. "Can I try?" I asked him.

He nodded.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Edward Pov:

I got to the gym about one, an hour or so after Bella. Tempted as I was to see how she was doing, I didn't want my coach to flip at me for being late.

Last time I was even a minute late for practice, he forced me to run suicide sprints half the day.

I slid on my work out clothes and made it to the pool area just as my coach exited his office.

"Edward," he nodded.

"What should I do first?" I asked.

He had me run three miles, sprinting every other half a mile.

I worked through a couple sets of reps in one of the weight rooms, and finally changed into my _Speedo_ and dove into the pool.

I swam a few warm up laps, and when I felt that my muscles were loose and warm, I signaled to my coach.

He started his stopwatch and I pushed into action.

About an hour later, I had a break. I snuck into the balcony of the gymnasium next door.

I quickly spotted Bella on one of the balance beams. She was jumping into the air over the four inch piece of wood, switching what seemed to be just her ankles in the air, and somehow managing to land before pushing right back off.

I smiled and waved, and she winked and smiled back at me.

"Edward!"

Uh oh. It was my dad.

He berated me for distracting Bella, who I saw smirking out of the corner of my eye.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Bella Pov:

"Hey Nessie, want to come over here with me?" I led her to a trampoline a little out of the way.

"How come you didn't want to try? It's really fun," I told her.

"It's scary," she said.

"The trampoline or the handspring?" I questioned.

"Both."

"I bet I can prove to you neither are scary, and if not, you don't have to try it today. Deal?"

She nodded, but still didn't move from her perch on the edge of the trampoline.

I bounced up and began doing silly jumps and seat drops, making a complete fool of myself, but having too much fun to care.

She began peaking out from the corner of her eye, and was quickly laughing at looking right at me.

I flopped my body down in an exaggerated manner and pretended to be exhausted. I sat there silently until I felt a small weight on the trampoline next to me.

"Hi!" I smiled.

"Hi." She smiled back, and this time it was a little less shy.

"You ready to try?"

She hesitated, but I didn't give her a chance to refuse. I took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

I began jumping and doing more seat drops, and before I knew it, she was doing them too.

She was giggling like crazy and didn't even notice when I stopped jumping.

"See, it's fun isn't it?"

"Yeah!" she answered.

"We are going to try some harder stuff now."

She looked completely petrified, and I was afraid I had pushed her too far.

"I will catch you. I swear I won't let you fall," I promised her, to which she tentatively agreed.

First I redid my demonstration, and then I helped lift her through the move.

After awhile, she became confidant enough to try one herself. The first few attempts weren't too pretty, but all of a sudden she nailed it. And again. And again.

Soon I had her doing layouts too, and even the two moves in combination, which none of the other girls in her group had managed yet.

I was so proud of her. It made me smile that when her time was over, her mom literally had to drag her away.

My smile grew even larger when she broke away from her mom, just to run back and give me a hug. It made me remember how much I loved working with the handicap kids back at the Y and all of the times I would help some of the little kids if I got done with my training early.

"You were wonderful with her Bella," Carlisle said. "I have been working with her for three weeks now, and I haven't been able to get her to do so much as a cartwheel. You should consider coaching when you retire."

I beamed. It was one thing to be told I was a good gymnast- all humility aside, I knew I had to be good to get to this level- but it was great to know that I could be a good coach too. That was a talent I didn't know I had.

"I called Charlie," Carlisle was continuing. "I told him you were staying for dinner, if that is all right with you."

I smiled. "That would be great, I'm starved."

It was seven o'clock at night, and I was literally starving. Normally I would have eaten an hour or so earlier, but I had stayed instead.

I threw some sweats over my leotard and grabbed my bag.

We walked together to the house where I could smell something amazing wafting through the house as soon as we walked in the door.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE

Edward Pov:

After I had my break, I went back to training, where I worked for twenty minutes for each of my strokes.

Before finishing up, I swam some cool down laps.

When I was done, I headed into the house for a shower before dinner.

Heading downstairs to the scent of whatever mouth-watering meal my mother had cooked up, I started in surprise to see Bella sitting at the table.

"Hey," I smiled hugely.

"Hey," she said back.

I sat down, and Esme, Bella and I dug into the meal. Alice was out shopping or something, and Carlisle grabbed a plate and ran back to the gym since he had to cover for a women's beginner's tumbling class that one of his staff was supposed to teach.

"It's so quiet," Esme commented contentedly.

"That's because Emmett isn't here," I informed her.

Just then there was a crash from the kitchen.

All of us jumped.

"Lucy, I'm home," a way too familiar voice bellowed.

Emmett walked through the door from the kitchen and took a seat at the table serving himself.

"Um, Emmett darling," Esme began.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" I finished.

He looked affronted. "Well the whole family moved here, so Rose and I bought a house nearby, so that we could see you."

Esme awed. "Where is Rose?" she questioned.

"Huh? Oh. She went shopping with Alice and I needed food, so I came over."

Bella giggled, drawing Emmett's attention to her.

"BELLA!" He bellowed. He jumped up from his seat and picked her up in a huge bear hug.

"Emmett, can't breath," she gasped.

"Oops." He put her down.

"Next thing you know, Jasper is going to move in too," I muttered, pinching my nose in agitation.

Just then the front door banged open, and I heard Alice squeal.

"Guess who is going to the University of Seattle?" she questioned, bouncing into the dining room while dragging a reluctant Jasper and a bemused Rosalie.

Great, I thought only half sarcastically. The whole family is here.


	13. Wakin' Up to Love

Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait. I was working and then I was down the shore with no computer, so I couldn't get this out. I am putting this out the second I am done writing it, I haven't even sent it to my beta, so ignore any mistakes. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, if I did I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfic, I would be hanging with the Cullen's and the wolves.

R and R.

My first full week in Forks had passed without incident. Well no major incidents. I had a feeling that Edward was about to kill Mike, who though sweet, was becoming kind of stalkerish. And my impervious to pain muscles were actually feeling a little sore from the extreme workout that I had given them under Carlisle's tutorage all week.

I woke up early that Sunday out of habit, even though it was my only day off.

I got up and turned on my computer before heading to the bathroom and getting dressed. Charlie was already gone, fishing or something with one of his friends, and I had the house to myself.

"Well it's time, for a change  
Throwing all those sad, sad songs away, oh today  
Won't let sunshine go to waste, no way no way," I sang along to the radio as I skipped downstairs and found an unusually sunny day waiting for me.

"Cause I can feel my heart beating for the very first time  
Everything around me starts falling in line  
I feel alive  
So alive  
I just can't hide  
Somethin's changed me, changed me, changed me, oh cause  
Lately, lately, lately I've been…"

I was so happy with everything right then. It was as though my life was perfect and I wouldn't do a thing to change it.

"Wakin' up to love  
Every morning I've been  
Wakin' up to love, I can hear  
Alarm clock's ringin'  
Through the window all the birds start singing  
Every morning we'll be  
wakin' up to love  
Don't you know that we'll be  
Wakin' up to love," I sang into my breakfast bar on the way back upstairs.

I continued to hum the song as I checked my email.

There was one from my mom that I hadn't had a chance to answer yet, and as I opened up my mail I found that there were three more, each one more urgent than the last.

Shaking my head at my mother's foolishness, I began to type.

About twenty minutes later, I had a decent sized email. There, that should hold her, I thought satisfied as I hit send.

I still had two hours or so before I had to meet Edward, so I started to answer some fanmail.

I began typing again, and skipped over any one that was creepy, and let me tell you there were quite a few of them. I was used to most of the usual creepy stuff so it didn't bother me too much, but there were a few that were slightly more disturbing than the others. It seemed like they were all from one person, though they had different login names.

As I read each one, I got thoroughly more creeped out. Belatedly, I remembered the letter I had received earlier in the week. In all of the craziness, it had completely slipped my mind. I hadn't taken it seriously before, but it was all beginning to connect in my mind.

I checked the final message.

_**My Bella,**_

_**I will make you mine. We were meant to be together. **_

_**Always devotedly your's,**_

_**Your secret admirer. **_

My phone buzzed, and I jumped. Glad to be distracted from my disquieting thoughts, and even more disquieting messages, I grabbed it, and checked the message from Edward.

_Wat time r u comin?_

I responded, quickly with a joke.

_After I meet my bf Edward. _

I waited for a response, smirking a little.

_Lol, not funny Bella!_

Unable to resist, I added one more joke.

_Oh, sry. I thought you were my other bf, Mike. Lol jk. On way._

I pulled on my shoes and grabbed my bag, before heading out of the door. I figured I would bring the emails to Charlie's attention when he got home tonight. In the meantime there wasn't much I could do.

I pushed my truck to the speed limit to get to the gym quickly, and made it there within ten minutes.

I drove up the drive and right past the gym. Instead I headed straight for the huge, gorgeous house.

I felt a little strange just walking in, but the last time I knocked Esme berated me for not just walking in. "You're practically family," she had told me.

So I made sure to make some noise as I walked in. I heard noises coming from the kitchen, so I headed in there, only to find Emmett sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"God Bella you walk like an elephant," he teased.

"God Emmett, I thought it was an elephant sitting at the table, but it was you," I shot right back.

He roared with laughter. That was what I loved about Emmett, he seemed all tough, but he was just a big teddy bear, or Emmybear as I like to call him, when he was out of hitting range.

I hopped up on a stool at the breakfast counter and played with an apple. "Why are you eating here, doesn't Rosalie feed you?" I asked biting into the apple.

"She does, but Esme makes the best blueberry pancakes, so I had a second breakfast this morning."

I just shook my head, and muttered pig under my breath.

"You here for Edward?"

I looked at him pointedly. "No, Emmett, I'm here for you, I hope he doesn't find out," I muttered, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Ha, I knew it!" he kidded right back. "But he just got in the shower.

I groaned, figures. I rush over here, and he's barely even gotten out of bed.

"Whatever, tell him I'll meet him in the gym."

"Sure thing, sugar… I mean Bella," Emmett corrected under my glare and the apple that I threw at him.

I walked the short path to the gym rather than driving my truck.

Slipping inside, I waved and smiled as people greeted me. It was open gym, but there were a few people whom I recognized.

"Bella! Bella!" I glanced around. It was Nessie. She was running up to me. When she reached me, she engulfed my waist with a hug.

"Hi, sweetie! How are you?" I asked.

"I'm great!" she squealed, and I marveled at the change in this little girl in just one week. "I can almost do that back handspring whip combination you taught me! And I stuck my bars dismount!"

"Wow, that is amazing! I am so proud of you!"

"Wanna see? Wanna see?"

"Sure."

I watched her until her mother called her over. She left with a hug, and I looked around, wondering what could be taking Edward so long.

I caught sight of him on the balcony. He was talking to someone I couldn't see. Just as I caught his eye, the person he was talking to turned. It was Tanya.

Before I would have been jealous, but I trusted Edward and knew that he loved me. So I gestured to him that I would meet him outside.

I walked out and perched lightly against his silver Volvo. I leaned back and closed my eyes, soaking in the vitamin D.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist and I smiled. "Edward," I giggled.

When he didn't respond, I opened my eyes, and before I could scream a strange smelling cloth was pressed over my mouth.

I kicked out, trying not to breathe. But my assailant's fist punched me in my stomach, and I sucked in air in surprise, and then I was falling, falling into black….


	14. KIDNAPPED

Sorry or the wait, I was working crazy hours this week. Anyway here is a super long chapter for you- and please don't hit me lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own twilight or Edward unfortunately, that's why I am singing Karaoke with my bff.

R and R.

Meg

I woke up extremely groggy, with a throbbing head and a horrible crick in my neck. I tried stretching my arms to see if I could get the kink out, but when I tried to raise my hands, something cut into my wrists.

My eyes flew open, only to find that I was blindfolded. I began to panic, but immediately began to calm myself.

Hysteria wouldn't help me figure out what was going on, or find me a way to get out of my current predicament.

I closed my eyes again, while breathing deeply, and let my other senses take over.

I felt tightness around my ankles and waist that matched the tightness around my wrists.

I could smell a dank musty odor that reminded me of Charlie's attic.

I could barley make out an area of weak light from outside my blindfold, so I assumed it was daytime.

My hearing, extra sensitive from my lack of sight, heard a dripping water sound, and something else that I strained to hear…. It sounded like footste…

"Ah, your awake," a gruff voice said.

I blinked against the sudden brightness as my captor pulled off my blindfold.

I took breath to scream, but before I could make a peep, he covered my mouth with his hand.

"Oh, no you don't!"

I bit his hand hard, and as he released me with a curse, I screamed as loud as I could.

He whipped his hand out to smack me, when…

"She's not worth it Laurent," a female voice disdained.

"But Victoria, she bit me!"

"Go keep watch. I'll deal with her."

I could feel my heart racing again, but it was with a collected expression that I met the woman, Victoria's gaze.

Emotion was weakness; whatever Edward had said I knew it was true. It held true in gymnastics and in real life. Scared shitless as I was, I couldn't allow myself to panic.

I wasn't sure whether it was suicidal here, but I wasn't going to be weak. That was the promise I made myself, as she contemplated me.

"Scream all you want. No one can hear you," she said in a manner of fake solicitousness.

I continued to gaze at her stonily. Meanwhile, I was freaking out internally.

"Good, I see that we understand each other. Now, I bet you are wondering why you are here. Well it is simple. Edward and I are meant to be together, but you, the little inconsequential thing that you are, were in my way. So I teamed up with your secret admirer Laurent over there to make both of our dreams come true. So now I am going to go bump into your Edward by accident, and he is going to fall in love with me. You will be forgotten, and Laurent gets to do with you what he will. Happily ever after ending don't you think?"

I couldn't help myself as I burst into laughter. "You think that he will forget me that easily? Even if he did stop loving me, I think he and a few other people would notice that I was missing, like half the gymnastics world, and my father, the police chief. Especially since I left my truck there, and I was supposed to meet Edward outside. And do you really think he would go for you? I mean the whole psycho I kidnapped your girlfriend thing aside, you are like ten years older than him, and he has never met you."

Shut up, shut up, I told myself. I must be crazy, or suicidal. But it was funny; I wasn't half as scared as I knew I should be, because I was too incredulous.

It was all like a bad dream, and I couldn't wait to wake up.

"You must have a death wish," she screamed at me, but then calmed herself down with an obvious effort. "But no matter. There is a note in your writing that tells Edward you got called out of town suddenly for a workshop, asking him to take care of your car. A similar note has been left for your father, and for your coach. Plus a duffle bag worth of your stuff is missing from your room. By the time anyone figures out you are gone; it will be too late to do anything. And to answer the last problem, Edward knows me. Oh he really knows me, but I went for his competition James first. Breaking Edward's heart."

My face fell, well that was my plan crashing and burning.

With a smirk she walked toward the door leading to the stairs. "Well, ta ta for now. I am going to meet your beloved Edward."

I felt despair fall over me as the door slammed shut. Instants later, I jumped as it flew open.

This time it was the man Laurent.

"Oh what I wouldn't do to touch that pretty little body of yours," he whispered, causing shivers to run down my spine. "But, no. I must wait. Don't worry though, soon you will be mine."

Though he was undoubtedly creepy, I sensed in him a weakness, I could exploit, and I jumped on it. There was a new plan forming in my head.

"Laurent," I murmured, in my best damsel in distress voice. "I am so thirsty, I could almost pass out. Could you please?" I let the question die, and gave him a pleading look.

I could see him warring with himself. "I don't know, Victoria told me not to do anything while she was gone. Said you were a flight risk."

"Well, Victoria isn't here." I pitched my voice a little lower, to make it sound raspy. "And how could a little drink of water hurt? Besides, I am tied up, where am I going?"

Unable to find fault with my supposedly irrefutable logic, he conceded.

The second the door closed behind him, I was wriggling. The slackest ropes seemed to be the ones around my ankles so I started there. I began moving my feet in an attempt to loosen my bindings. I had almost given up a few seconds later, when I felt movement.

I managed to loosen them enough to slip my one foot out, just as the door opened. Fortunately for me, Laurent was not looking at my feet, and I managed to get them back in the loosened rope without him noticing. I held my muscles in a strained position to make the knots appear taut.

Laurent held a glass of water up to my mouth and I drank greedily. The plea for water wasn't just a plan it was a real need.

As soon as I was done, I began phase two. Doubling over the best I could in my cramped position, I moaned in pain.

"What is it?" Laurent questioned, genuinely concerned.

"The ropes…" I gasped. "They are too tight… can't breathe."

He was either extremely gallant, or extremely gullible, I thought, not caring which because either worked toward my advantage.

He loosened the ropes around my waist slightly, not much, but hopefully enough.

He stayed awhile longer, until even my strong muscles were straining with the effort of keeping the ropes tight.

"I have to go keep watch outside, but I will be back to check on you soon" he told me when he was done, with a last lingering look.

I tried to hide my glee over how well this was all working. I had been trying to figure how to get him out of the room, and he came with a built in excuse.

Once again, as soon as the door closed, I was wriggling. The ropes around my feet fell to the ground, and I didn't spare a moment to massage my tightened muscles, but instead went right to work on the ropes around my waist.

It was tight, but they were slack enough that my flexible body was able to slip out. Thanking the fact that gymnasts need great flexibility I slid my tied arms over the chair and stood.

The knots on my hands were tied particularly tight. Giving up on them for then, I made my way to the tiny window. I knew trying to sneak out downstairs would be close to impossible with Laurent standing guard, so that left the window.

It was unlocked, but rusted from years of disuse. I was reduced to kicking it open. It took a few good kicks, but ultimately it opened with a resounding crash.

Shit, shit, shit, I thought as I heard footsteps on the stairs. I grabbed the chair and used it to block the handle, but the banging on the other side of the door left no doubt in my mind that I only had seconds.

Taking a deep breath and hoping that the ground wasn't too far down, I leapt out the window, only to be surprised when the ground came up rather quickly.

It was a deck. Thanking the heavens, I ran this way and that, hoping to find a staircase. Unfortunately that was where my luck ran out.

No stairs, and I heard Laurent breaking into the room at last.

Taking another deep breath, I backed up a few feet and ran headlong at the railing. Just before I ran straight into it, I launched my body into the air, and pushed off the railing.

Twisting in the air, trying to get my feet below me, I spotted for the ground.

Just a few feet from impact, I heard a roar of rage. Apparently Victoria was back and she had joined Laurent on the deck.

Distracted by her scream, I lost my concentration, and that one-second was all it took. Crashing to the ground, I absorbed most of my impact on my left wrist. I screamed in pain as I felt broken bone break skin.

Knowing that my time was precious- already Laurent and Victoria had disappeared back into the house, Victoria screaming at him to catch me, I got up, and ran ignoring the shooting pain, in my left wrist that had grown to include a few ribs, and my knee.

I ran as hard and as fast as I could. I wasn't sure which way safety was in the unfamiliar woods, but I knew all I wanted was to get as far as possible away from that house.

My feet pounded out a comforting rhythm, as I hit my stride. I was running extremely fast judging by the cruelness of the branches as I whipped past them, and the coldness of the rain and wind coming through the canopy of trees. I had never run so fast in my life, nor had anything ever depended upon it as much.

I looked behind me to see if they were close, and tripped over a protruding root. I tripped and tumbled through the air, somersaulting uncontrollably down a ravine. I cradled my injured wrist to my chest and curled into a ball until I lost momentum and stopped.

Panting, I tried to stand, and found myself unable to support my weight. I curled into a tighter ball and the hysterics came. All of the panic I tried to compress in that horrible house, spilled out.

My heart raced, my breath hitched, and my eyes ran until they were dry.

Eventually I cried myself into silence. I was completely numb, unable to care. Automatically I took stock of my location, but with no real interest.

I was curled at the bottom of a narrow ravine, a large oak tree protecting me from most of the rain, which was falling in earnest now, as darkness descended.

I lay there for an indeterminable amount of time, sinking in and out of consciousness. I had no clue where I was or what time it was, but after awhile I thought I heard signs of searchers.

Friend or foe, I wasn't sure, but I suspected the latter. I kept as quiet as possible, and prayed they wouldn't discover me, for I had nothing left to fight them with.

They seemed to go away for a while, but then suddenly I heard a louder approach that seemed to come from right above me.

"There you are," a deep voice stated, and it was all too much. I blacked out and left my fate to chance.


	15. Done!

Hey guys sorry for the wait, both my beta and I are extremely busy. This chapter was one of the hardest I have ever written. Please don't hate me for it, I swear that it will work out.

Congrats to Alex who got into medical school, and is the doctor in this chapter. And I want to thank a special group of reviewers who are the reason I finally did get this chapter out no matter how many times I rewrote it, you know who you are. And it is really long to make up for the wait.

R and R, let me know what you think.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

I had to be dreaming. Nothing else made sense. Certainly not the images that were going on around me as I floated.

I was running through the woods, pursued. The faster I ran, the closer whatever was chasing me got.

Another thing that didn't make sense was the strange conversations that came as the wild dreams faded out.

"Severely injured, but reparable…. lucky she was found in time…. bleeding out…"

Finally it all ended. I pulled myself out from the cycle, only to be disoriented by my real surroundings.

The anesthetic smells and sights of a hospital greeted me as I opened my eyes. The second sight to meet my eyes was a very worried Charlie.

"Hey, Dad," I rasped, startled by the rough sound of my voice.

"Bella, thank God. You have been unconscious for three days; we didn't know when you were going to wake up. Your mom was here, but she had to fly back. Oh Bells, I was so worried about you. But baby we caught them. It's ok. They won't hurt you again."

I looked at him, still a little groggy before the events of the last few days came back to me.

Before I could get lost in what could have been, a squeal of "Bella!" resounded through the room.

Seconds later Alice, the squealer, broke through the door and almost pounced on me, before remembering that I was injured. She stopped herself, but just barely.

Barely a second later, she was back to speaking a mile a minute. Under her onslaught of babble, I saw Charlie slip out the door, waving apologetically.

I just let her run on her own steam for a while, cause I knew it was pointless to try to stop her when she got started.

"We were so worried about you. Edward has been here like every minute, but Dad had to force him to leave for a little. Ooooh he is going to be so mad that he missed you waking up. I have to go soon though or I will miss my flight. I will call you everyday…"

Thankfully, a doctor entered right then, effectively cutting Alice off. She left the room with an "I'll go call him."

I nodded, and turned my attention to the doctor.

"Hi Isabella, I am Dr. Alex."

"Bella, and nice to meet you Dr. Alex," I greeted the kind, young, pretty doctor.

"You were pretty banged up when you got in here dear," she looked at her chart. "I can give you a full diagnosis as soon as I get back the results of your last head CT."

With a page on her beeper, and a nod, she too was gone. I was left alone with thoughts that I was trying not to think. If I let myself think or feel, the calm that I was barely gripping, would slip through my fingers. I wasn't going to lose it in a building full of people either.

I could break down when I got home, in the privacy of my own room.

I internalized and took stock of my condition to calm myself down. My wrist was in an imobilizer. I was having slight trouble breathing, and whenever I took a deep breath, there was a shooting pain in my chest, which led me to believe I had a few broken ribs. My right ankle was wrapped in ace bandages, and only hurt a little bit; so I am guessing it was just sprained. And finally I had gauze and bandages on a few shallow scratches along my hands, face, and arms.

A throat being cleared broke into my evaluation.

I jumped. I was a little skittish, but who could blame me.

It was Edward though, lurking unsure in the doorway.

"Hey!"

"Hi, Bella," he answered, though his voice was kind of cold.

I patted the spot next to me on the uncomfortable hospital bed, but Edward walked over and leaned against the window.

Shocked at his behavior and his silence, I looked everywhere but at him.

"I'm leaving Isabella."

This cold fact stated in an equally cold tone of voice, cut deep.

"What? What are you talking about? Edward…"

"I'm no good for you Bella. You get hurt whenever I am around."

"Edward no. You are the best thing that I have. And in case you haven't noticed I am an elite gymnast, getting hurt is kind of in the job description."

"Exactly, and you don't need any help from me. And this is a little worse than falling off the beam and getting a scrape. Bella, they could have killed you, they could have…." His voice trailed off, as he contemplated who knows what kind of horrors.

"Edward, you think I don't know that, but I do. But it was _nothing. Nothing!_"

"Yet again. You are right. With our track record it was almost expected," the sarcasm in his voice was hard, and most unlike him.

"Edward it doesn't matter. None of it matters. I love you."

He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, something seemed to have died in them. "You just don't get it do you? I was trying to make it easier on you, but I guess that won't work. We are over. It was fun while it lasted, but I am an international swimmer, and I need more. Especially now that I can basically have any girl in the U.S, and a few other countries."

I struggled to stand up, but he reached over and firmly, but gently pushed me back against the pillows. "Edward…." The rest of my plea died out.

"Promise me, you will stay safe Isabella," Edward whispered, pressing a kiss against my forehead. "For Charlie of course," he amended, straightening up.

He dropped something in my lap. I looked down, it was my Claddagh, I thought I had lost it in that place. I looked up questioningly. "It's how we knew something was wrong," he said in that same monotonic voice.

He headed to the door, but paused as he opened it. He looked back, and for one indeterminable second in time, something flashed in his eyes as they met mine. Something that could undermine everything that he had just said, but then he and it were gone, and I told myself I had imagined it.

I had felt more than my share of physical pain. I have broken, sprained, or torn almost every muscle and bone in my body. But this was by far much worse. I have never had my heart broken, but I knew it was much worse than that. It was as if my heart had been ripped from my chest, slowly and harshly.

It was just too much. It was all too much. I felt my body go numb, my own kind of anesthetic.

I couldn't take anything else. I curled up into a ball the best I could, ignoring the stabbing pain in my ribs and stayed like that until the doctor returned.

"Bella. We have some good news for you."

I rolled over automatically. I doubted anything would qualify as good news, but I had manners instilled in me since birth. Charlie and Carlisle had joined the doctor to hear her news.

"There is no residual damage from the concussion. As for the rest of you, a few broken ribs, a minor ankle sprain, and a few scrapes and bruises are the most of it. They should heal fairly quickly. However I am a little concerned about your wrist. Your bone snapped from extreme pressure and the force of the trauma caused it to force itself through the skin in your arm. We were able to fuse it back together with surgery, but there was damage to some ligaments and the muscle as well. I am fairly confident for a full recovery. Some physical therapy, and a little break from training, and you will be right back in shape and able to do a double twisted double," she joked the last part, but even her butchering of the name didn't make me smile.

"No, I won't," I said quietly, though it was heard over Charlie's thanks and Carlisle's questions.

"What do you mean, Bella? Didn't you hear the doctor? You will be fine," Charlie stated.

"No. I. Am. Done," I punctuated each word, before continuing over their protests. I sat up straight, swinging my legs over the side with some difficulty, and ripping out the IV.

Something inside of me had just snapped. "I am done with training, I am done with competing, and I am done with gymnastics! I can't take it anymore. The constant injuries and training back from the injuries just to get injured again. Every single day of my life I train tricks that can kill me and then when I do get injured, I rush back as fast as I can, just to get injured again."

I took a deep breath and just kept on going. It was like once I got started, I couldn't stop.

"I haven't had a break my entire childhood. I have given this sport everything I had and it still isn't good enough. Every time I nail a trick that people say is impossible, someone else has just nailed a trick that is ten times harder. It never ends; the best is never good enough. I'm never just competing against the judges, or the other gymnasts, or that line between possible and impossible, but also myself, and I can't do it anymore. There is too much pressure; I have a World Championship title, who cares? I have Olympic gold medals, what does it matter? I am only as good as my next routine, and I just can't be any better than I am."

At this point tears were welling in my eyes, but I refused to let them spill. A part of my brain dimly registered the shocked and slightly scared trio of people staring at my outburst.

"Bella, it's fine honey. Just take a little break from gymnastics, you will see. It will all get better and you will be back in training before you can blink."

"No!" I screamed. "You don't get it! I AM DONE! I don't want to be Isabella Swan, international gymnast anymore, I just want to be Bella, a normal teenage girl…"

A deep voice broke into my rant. "You're quitting, I can't believe _you_ are quitting. You Isabella Never Quit Swan is just giving up. If I wasn't hearing this with my own ears I would never have believed it."

I stared slightly in shock for a second as Jacob Black appeared around the doorway, before I started again.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I wasn't curious; no, I doubted I would ever be curious again. I just was angry and needed to take it out on someone, anyone.

It was Charlie who answered me tentatively. "Jacob is here visiting his dad. He was the one who found you. He saved you."

I barely heard him; I was stuck in the deep wells of his dark brown eyes.

"Why? Why the hell did you save me? You should have just left me there!" I needed to blame someone, anyone, because the alternative truth was too hard to take.

This time I succeeded in getting to my feet. I hobbled my way to wear Jacob was standing, through the parted group of people. As soon as I reached him, I began to punch every bit of him that I could reach with my good hand-which in all honesty wasn't much, seeing as he towered over me.

"Why? Why? Why?" I punctuate each word with a hit.

He just stood there and let me hit him, and when I finally dissolved into sobs, he carefully picked me up and carried me over to the bed where he cradled me.

"Why? Why? Why?" I continued to sob myself into silence. He just rocked me in silence. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Charlie, Carlisle and Doctor Alex slip out of the room with a wave of Jacob's hand, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I just lost myself in the strong arms of Jacob Black.

I wasn't strong enough; I couldn't carry the load all by myself anymore. It was almost a relief to let someone else take over, even if it was just for a little while.

I had lost everything, and the only thing tying me to anything was the arms wrapped tenderly around me, the voice murmuring a sort of soothing lullaby in another language, and the cold metal of my ring clutched in my fist.


	16. Christmas Wish

Ok first thanks to all of my reviewers.

Second I have an issue to clear up. To the reviewer who posted under "I hate you," that was messed up. There was no reason to say that, or what you said about my story. If you don't like my story, there is a simple answer, stop reading it. Flaming any author is wrong, especially for stupid reasons. Every single writer on this site deserves nothing but respect, so if you have an issue you can put your name and discuss it like an adult. And another thing, this story was following a slight New Moon theme, and correct me if I am wrong but New Moon started off happy for a chapter or so and then went all emo depressive. So if you are going to insult the storyline as well, think first. I am in NO WAY comparing my work with the AMAZING Stephanie Meyer, but I am just saying if you liked New Moon and continued with the series after that all the way to fanfic, then why would you have a problem with a story that emulates it. Finally if you are going to flame me, don't hide a flame under an anonymous name. Tell me you don't like it as yourself.

To my other wonderful readers, I am sorry for that and this long author note. But I was really upset about that review that I received earlier tonight. Especially since I have been working my butt off to get a chapter to you in under a week and was currently working on subsequent chapters. I am extremely upset right now, not because of a flame, but because of the way someone flamed me. I just want to say that I gave up writing a story to please everyone after I got similar reviews to this for Dreams of Gold, because lets face it, if I try to write to please everyone the storyline would be in a million pieces.

I almost have the next two chapters ready, but I don't know if I am going to rewrite it now. I got really upset and now I don't know if I should change the storyline back to the original way I had it, or keep it the way I was planning.

Anyway yet again sorry for the long a.n. Enjoy the story.

So this is what normal teenagers did, I thought to myself as I stood awkwardly in a corner of Mike Newton's house.

It was because Charlie's remonstrations that I even accepted Mike's invitation in the first place.

"You wanted to be a normal teenager," were the words he had used, but his eyes told a different story. I could see how worried he was, but I was too numb to do much about it. After a month or so, he had had enough of my zombie-like behavior.

I did try to make an effort, for Charlie's sake. So here I was at the annual first day of Christmas break party at the Newton's.

Apparently Mike's parents go out of town every year at this time, so in typical teenage fashion, there was a party.

My curiosity was piqued, which felt strange to me. I was trying to figure out just what the appeal of listening to bad music, while getting drunk, and making out with random people was.

Maybe if you get drunk? I thought, looking questioningly at the cup someone had thrust into my hands.

I quickly decided against it, some habits die hard.

"Hey, Philadelphia," someone greeted me.

It was Mike, and judging by his slurring, the cup in his hand wasn't his first.

"Hi Mike," I mumbled.

He placed his arm around my shoulders and led me in the direction of the stairs. Halfway up them, he began to nuzzle my neck.

It was too much. Shoving him back against the wall, I flew down the steps and out the door. Thundering down the outside steps, I ran right into someone.

It was Angela, one of the only people I had met in my first full week that I actually liked. She was crying and her pain shunted me out of my own for a second.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

She just nodded, sniffling. I began to walk past her to my car, but then thought better of it and turned around.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked her.

She nodded again, this time in gratefulness. Together we made our way to my truck, each wrapped in our own misery.

Once inside the cab of my truck, her sobs renewed. I patted her back awkwardly, wondering if this is how I looked to everyone else.

When she had calmed herself down a little, I was able to get the story from her.

She had come with Tyler, but he started drinking, got really mean, and broke up with her.

I comforted her the best I could, but the best comfort didn't come from me at all. As we were leaving Mike's street, little Ben Cheney called out to her with a smile and a wave.

Instantly she brightened a little, and though the ride home was in silence, it was slightly less heavy.

When I pulled up to her house minutes later, she didn't get out right away.

"Thanks for all of this," she nodded to indicate what had just passed.

"No problem," I said uncomfortably. This was the most in depth human interaction I had had in awhile, and it was a little strange.

She opened the door to get out, but then paused. "Bella, are youok?"

I gave her the line I reserved for when people asked me that. "Yeah, my wrist is healing. They think it should be 100 percent soon."

"No Bella. Are _you_ ok, you know with everything that happened?"

I started; I hadn't been forced into an answer like this. "I don't know," I answered as truthfully as I could.

She looked at me for a moment longer, and with a sad look on her face that I was pretty sure had nothing to do with Tyler, she left the car.

I honestly cannot tell how I got home; I could have hit a truck and not have noticed. My thoughts were going a mile a minute.

I crept inside. Charlie was already asleep when I got in.

I showered and got ready for bed all on autopilot, but when I got into bed and closed my eyes, I couldn't stop the flood of emotion.

It was like a dam had burst. The world was too loud in the silence of the night. Too bright in the swallows of the dark. Too alive in the dead of midnight.

I couldn't find my bubble again, and I wasn't sure which scared me more, the fact that I couldn't, or the fact that I wanted to.

I couldn't be any different from the girl who had arrived in Forks months ago.

For the first time since that day, I took stock of my life.

Everyday, I woke up went to school, went to Physical Therapy, went home, and started all over again.

I sleepwalked through my classes, the only one in which I participated was music which filled my old gym requirements. I also had a mandatory gym class, but thanks to my wrist, I was mercifully excused. Granted I had to sit there for an hour every day, which at one time would have driven me crazy, but now was a nice break.

On the upside, thanks to the lack of anything better to do, my grades, previously good, had become perfect.

And my behavior was beyond reproach. I had even taken to cooking for Charlie. At first he grumbled at what he called rabbit food, but after awhile he came around to it, and I think he even likes some of it.

I was never late for curfew, basically because I rarely left the house.

My bedroom, which I now looked at with new eyes, seemed too clean. It was almost as if no one lived there.

I was the model teenager, and that is where the problem is. I was a model, no emotion, no spark, nothing.

Gone was the cheerful, spitfire, stubbornness that I had been known for. Gone was the girl who wasn't afraid of anything.

And it wasn't just the loss of Ed… him. I was missing gymnastics, though I couldn't, no, wouldn't admit it to myself.

I had dealt with much harder things, but don't tell my heart that.

But even now as I cried, I could see the hurt in Charlie's eyes as he looked at me.

I knew I had to change, for his sake if not mine, but I just didn't know how.

The last thing I saw, as I closed my eyes was the calendar on my wall.

With a shock I saw that it was December 21. Four days until Christmas.

In a whispered sigh, I said my Christmas wish, "Please let him come back. Let it all go back to the way it was." And with that I fell asleep to the nightmares that had plagued me since that day.

I would run through the woods, trying to escape perusal. But then the dream changed. Instead of being chased, I was chasing someone. I knew who it was, but even my subconscious couldn't bear to say his name.

The faster I ran, the farther away he seemed to be.

I woke with a strangled cry as light began creeping under my window.

It was the dawn of a new day. And for once, I didn't know what to expect.


	17. Headline Heartbreak

I want to thank everyone so much! You people were amazing and wonderful and sweet with all the support you guys sent. I can't thank you enough. I will try to update the next chapter as soon as I can but I haven't had a chance to really write more than a few sentences so….

Anyway thank you sooo much again, I hope you like the chapter!

R and R.

XOXO,

Meg

Christmas Eve. Years past, I would begrudgingly leave the gym only to have a wonderful day of festiveness with my mom.

This year, my Christmas Eve included a trip to the Physical Therapist. My final visit until the New Year.

I drove the hour drive to Seattle, and pulled in across the street. As I was putting money in the meter, I noticed a commotion outside the doctor's office.

Slightly curious, and slightly uneasy- it was still a little strange being in tune with everything after being so out of touch for so long, I made my way towards the front door.

Unfortunately that led me straight through the crowd, and that is when they pounced.

"It's her. It's her. Isabella!"

There were flashes and calls all around me.

"Isabella, is it true that Edward Cullen broke your wrist and that is why he left you?"

I just stood there in shock for a second. First because, I thought that Charlie and Carlisle had kept the whole debacle under careful wraps. Apparently not. But they didn't seem to have all of the information. And what they did have was really off.

Second of all, why was it such a big deal to the press? I mean yeah, every big name Olympian gets some press time after the Olympics if they did something amazing, but a few months later, it all dies down. People would rather read about the Hollywood Elite, than the Sports Elite. I mean what do a bunch of muscled competitors who lead very simple lives that mostly include training 24/7 have on a bunch of people who go to and star in movie premiers everyday, I thought to myself sarcastically. This spark of my old self surprised me almost as much as their attention.

That's right, I cottoned on. Most people loved relationships between famous people, even famous sports people. And what they loved even more than relationships was troubled relationships.

"Bella! Bella! Is it true that you retired from gymnastics so you wouldn't have to face him or his family?"

And another thing. I wasn't officially retired. This was a decision that I had contested at every turn, but Carlisle and Charlie after many hours of begging convinced me to agree to the prudent proposal. I was done with gymnastics, but with all of my endorsements, I could not officially retire from elite gymnastics without opening myself up to multiple lawsuits. I had at least another year on most of my endorsements, so for the time being, I was still listed as an active elite; although I had not stepped a foot anywhere near a gym, nor had any intention of doing so. I wasn't in breach of my contracts as long as I didn't officially retire, even if I never did so much as another back handspring in my life.

Their shouts continued as I forced my way through them.

"No comment," I said, although in that clamor, I doubted that anyone heard me.

Eventually I made it to the door and slipped inside. I quickly climbed into the elevator, which was mercifully empty; and once the doors closed on prying eyes, I hit the emergency stop button, and sank to the floor.

For a few minutes, I sobbed tearlessly, my breathing accelerating with each ache of my heart. But then I pulled it together.

Whatever the personal cost, I had promised myself I wouldn't fall apart again. Taking a deep breath and centering myself, I focused.

I aligned every part of my body to my breathing and the point at hand, until each muscle was geared for the same purpose-to get through physical therapy and survive the emotions coursing through me.

Nothing could get through my mental block; it had been perfected by years of competition, although it felt strange to use it this instance.

I hit the restart button, and by the time the elevators opened on the second floor, I was in total control.

I signed in with a forced smile to the receptionist, and went to take my seat until my name was called.

I grabbed the nearest magazine and pretended to read it, although I was still in focus mode.

The conversation of two older women caught my attention. "Did you hear about that Cullen boy?" she asked her apparently hard of hearing friend.

I felt my curiosity piqued even though I knew it could hurt me, and I was already dangling on the tenterhooks as it was today.

"Yeah, he broke up with that lovely gymnast girl. What is her name Swan, Arabella…no Isabella Swan?"

"Well apparently the reason why has something to do with her getting injured and him blaming himself."

At this point all pretences of reading had flown out the window, down the street, and were probably halfway across the world as this point.

Had I been so out of the loop that this had all surfaced without me having a clue? It must have been new because it seemed to be the main topic of conversation. For a second, I wondered how it had leaked, but then I forced myself to remember it didn't matter anyway. He wasn't coming back.

The two old women noticed my blatant eavesdropping and glared over at me, causing me to hide behind my magazine again just before the first woman nudged her companion.

"She looks awfully like that Swan girl doesn't she?"

I slid farther behind my magazine, which I now realized had been upside down for the last ten minutes.

Fortunately just then the nurse called my name. "Isabella Swan?"

With my face curtained by my long hair, I walked past the gossiping old ladies and to the Fluido therapy machine.

It was my favorite part of therapy. I was able to release my wrist from its brace, and allow warm currents to massage my hand.

There were eated ground up cornhusks inside that felt a bit like sand, and made my skin really soft.

I closed my eyes and relaxed into the massage for the next twenty minutes or so.

Then came the not so fun part of therapy. I went through the multiple exercises designed to strengthen my wrist, and to test my healing and pain thresholds.

"Good Isabella," Jyodi, the physical therapist complimented me. "You are healing very quickly, much faster than you should."

She pulled out a rotating measurer to test the dexterity in my injured wrist compared to my good wrist. "Big improvement from beginning. Almost as good as the other wrist," she noted in her Bangladeshi accent. Next she took out what looked like a mix between a clamp and a compass, and had me squeeze as hard as I could with two fingers on each hand.

She completed a few more tests, taking notes here and there and muttering to herself. I waited anxiously for the words I had longed to hear for weeks, despite the sweetness of Jyodi.

Finally as she was giving my wrist its rub down massage, she spoke to me.

"Well my dear, you have graduated! But," she noted at the triumphant smile on my face, there are a few restrictions. You have to continue with the exercises I gave you, and you are to come visit me two weeks from today to see if you are keeping up with your progress. Also no strenuous pressure on that wrist or you will be right back where you started."

With that she gave me a less restrictive brace to keep on for the time being. This one wasn't as ugly or as annoying as the first. It was a bright, almost pretty blue, and felt much more natural.

I gave her a hug and with a squeal of joy headed out of there.

I had made it to the elevator before realizing that I still had the crowd outside to avoid.

Acting all James Bondish, I darted past the windows, down the steps, and out the back door.

Feeling quite proud at myself, I did a silly little happy dance.

"Ah hmm," someone said behind me.

I jumped so high that any high jumper would have been jealous, before whirling around.

Standing before me, a frozen yogurt cup in his hand was one of the last people I had expected to see in Seattle today.

With a happy squeal, I wrapped my arms around the person.

"Wow. I think I will surprise you more often, if this is the response I get," the person laughed in his deep voice.


	18. Packages, dresses, and baseball bats

Hey guys! I am on a roll with updating. Thank a bad case of insomnia. I actually have updated three days this week, so please show your love.

Also if you want to read a good story, read The Heart of A Champion by Metallicababy55.

R and R, if I get 30 reviews I will update by Tuesday night.

"Jake! What are you doing here?" I squealed.

"Charlie said you had PT, so I thought I might want to get something to drink cause I had to pick up some stuff for Billy."

His voice was friendly, but his eyes were questioning.

I knew why too. Over the last few months, Jacob had come to visit me almost every day, first in the hospital and then when I got home. I couldn't understand why he kept coming around when all we did was sit in silence, but he was there every day without fail.

I hadn't seen him the last few days. He had been out of town, and my transformation must have shocked him. I mean I knew I still wasn't a hundred percent, and I doubted I ever would be, but the fact that I was smiling and human like must have been a big surprise.

I decided to act like nothing had changed; it was too complicated and painful to get into. So before he could ask, I asked a question of my own.

"How are you eating frozen yogurt? It's like two degrees outside." Ok I was exaggerating. In fact it was a pretty balmy winter so far, but still too cold to eat frozen yogurt.

He seemed to follow my lead, though he was still staring at me like I was a puzzle to figure out.

"What? It's good. Here have some!"

He shoved a bit of frozen yogurt in my mouth. It was really cold, but not as cold as the bit he smashed into my nose. This started an all out froyo war.

I was reminded of another time, but I kept myself in the present.

When we had wiped off all of the frozen yogurt, we decided to go get some coffee.

It was nice just hanging out with Jacob, comfortable.

We just talked, well he mostly talked, and I listened. Occasionally I would add a comment to something that he said, or laugh incredulously as he told me about the shenanigans he and his best friends got up to, when he wasn't swimming, in training, or traveling of course.

After awhile he realized he was dominating the conversation- not that I minded, and he tried to get some information out of me.

Unsure for the first time since we sat down, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"My wrist is almost completely healed. I could start training again!" I exclaimed, before correcting myself. "That is if I wanted to, which I don't cause I quit, but it's almost healed so, yeah," I finished lamely. I surprised myself yet again. Where had that come from? I didn't want to go back to gymnastics, and I couldn't. I guess it was just subconsciously stuck in my brain from years of it being the most prominent thing in my life.

Shaking off my confusion, I tuned back into what Jake was saying.

"…Great! We have to celebrate. We are going to a bonfire tonight. There is this Christmas Eve tradition my friends and family have since I was little. You have to come." Noting the hesitance on my face, he quickly amended himself. "As friends of course. Come on, how can you say no to this face?" He gave a puppy dog pout that had a somewhat devilish quality to it. Almost like the big bad wolf. (lol sorry too easy.)

I agreed, somewhat reluctantly. I wasn't sure if I was ready for something like that yet, but he was right, I couldn't refuse that face.

Agreeing for him to pick me up at seven, I headed home. Once there I quickly put together a nice dinner for Charlie and I. Preparing all of the ingredients for homemade soup, I placed them into the big pot on the stove to simmer slowly.

I then rushed upstairs where I skimmed my limited closet. It was even more skint now that my leotards weren't there.

Exhausting all of my options, I flopped back spread eagle on my bed.

My phone began ringing, and I had to wriggle to get it out of my back pocket.

It was Alice again. True to her word, she called every day. I usually answered that I was busy, or didn't pick up at all. I just couldn't face her before. But true to form, she kept calling.

I hit ignore; I was too jumbled to lie to her right now.

Two seconds later, my phone alerted me to a new text message.

It was from Alice. I had to give it to her, she was persistent.

Isabella Swan! Pick up now! I can't believe you didn't tell me. If you don't call me back, I will fly there and personally kick your butt!

Knowing that she was serious, I sighed and hit the callback option on my phone.

Carlisle had promised me to keep the whole a secret, not just from everyone, but his family. And of course I am pretty sure he doesn't know that Edward and I even broke up. I certainly wasn't going to tell him.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" she screamed as soon as she picked up.

"I guess you heard that I quit then."

"YOU QUIT?!"

Oops guess she didn't know about that.

"Yeah, um I thought that was what you were calling about," I said sheepishly.

"No I was calling to yell at you for breaking up with my brother and not even calling your best friend to talk about it. No, I had to find out from a _magazine_. A magazine for goodness sake. I thought we were best friends."

"We are. And I didn't break up with Ed… your brother. He…" I steeled myself to say the words aloud. "He broke up with me, apparently I wasn't good enough."

I practically choked on my words.

"Bull!" she declared. "He loves you more than anything in the world!"

"Well apparently not Alice, because he broke up with me. And I really just don't want to talk about it, which is why I haven't told you." I was a little irritated with her. I mean I know he is her brother and all that, but does she really think that little of me? And to take his side when it he was the one who ended it.

"Oh Bella. No, don't get the wrong idea. I am not sticking up for him. I just can't believe he broke up with you. There has to be a reason. But how are you?

I sighed. "I… I am trying. That's the best I can do right now. It hasn't been easy, but I am doing the best I can."

She must have sensed that was all she was going to get from me, so she changed the subject.

"So what is this about you quitting gymnastics? That wasn't in the magazine I read."

"Oh. Well you know a lot of gymnasts retire after the Olympics. I just had enough, and I don't think my body could take much more. I'm practically ancient by gymnastics standards. It was time for me to quit," I lied feebly.

"You are the worst liar in the entire world," she snorted. "Yeah right. First thing, you are younger than me. Second, you have bounced back from far worse injuries. Third, the gymnasts that quit were never real gymnasts if that was all they stayed in competition for. And fourth, you are so not that person. Gymnastics is your life; you couldn't give it up if you tried."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Actually Allie, I can. I haven't been in a gym in months. And maybe I am one of those girls. But either way I have to go. I am going out tonight for like the first time and I have to find something to wear. I am kind of new to this."

"Ooh ," she squealed, distracted. "You should have received a package from me. It's your Christmas package, but you can open it early. It might help a little. And is there a boy involved? And don't think you are getting away that easily. And we will talk soon. And you have to come see me dance…."

I cut her off. "Thanks for the gift Alice. No there is no boy involved. Well not really unless you count a friend of Charlie's. And I am going now before you set the world record for babbling. Merry Christmas! Bye."

I hung up on her "call me!"

I went downstairs and surely enough there was a package addressed to me. Opening it with a knife from the kitchen, I carried it upstairs to investigate.

It was absolutely gorgeous. It was a red cashmere sweater dress. The shade of red was a deep Christmas red. It was cut like a wrap around dress that cinched where my waist would be. It had slight beading around the low neckline and where the waist cinched. The tiny crystals shimmered in the light as I moved the dress. It looked as though it would end near the middle to upper part of my thighs, and it seemed a little short to me, but I decided to go for it especially since I was wearing tights.

Placing it carefully on my bed, I rushed to get in the shower. I had to hurry now if I wanted to get done it time.

A quick shower and shave later, I was drying my hair. Once I had it dry, I used my curling iron to create loose curls that I messed up with my fingers.

I lined my upper eyelids with a dark gray liner, and then applied shimmering sliver powder to the rest of the lid. I even added some in the corner of my eye to highlight my eyes a little.

A shimmery lip gloss was added next.

Running downstairs I checked on the soup which was coming along nicely.

Once back upstairs, I searched through my drawers until I found the shimmery, lacey silver camisole that Renee had bought me a few birthdays ago.

Slipping it on and the dress over top, I then found matching silvery tights.

Thankfully it was unusually balmy in Washington this winter, and I knew that I should be warm enough around a bonfire with the thick, silky cashmere.

I slipped my Uggs on. They didn't match perfectly, but they somehow complimented the outfit.

I felt extremely girly in the dress, and kind of uncomfortable with the way the cashmere hugged my slight curves. Strangely it did not make me feel bulky which is how I felt most of the time compared to most girls. With my muscles, I felt like I was the Incredible Hulk standing among a bunch of Barbie dolls. Don't get me wrong, I was proud of my muscles because I knew what I went through to get them, but I had a hard time feeling feminine when I had muscles that most guys would kill for.

But this dress highlighted my toned body in a way that made me feel almost confident, and pretty.

I finished getting ready just as Charlie came home. He was surprised at my attire. "You sure look pretty tonight Bella," he had said awkwardly. He was more than happy to let me out, if not guarded to see me so abnormally excited.

As we ate the delicious- if I do say so myself- soup that I made with the French bread I had toasted, he watched me a little warily. But soon he was warming up and by the time the doorbell rang, we were laughing happily together.

I ran to open the door- and tripped of course. Brushing myself off, I pulled open the door with a flourish.

The following few seconds had to be comical to the casual onlooker. Jake stood there with a look of shock on his face, while I stood there with a confused face at his shock on mine.

He was wearing dark jeans and a tight fitting black sweater.

"Hey Jake." Charlie broke the stunned silence. "You clean up nice."

"Yeah," I chimed in, regaining the use of my voice.

He shook his head and cleared his throat. "Wow Bella! You look amazing!"

I blushed and brushed it off as a polite compliment. Grabbing my coat, I called bye to Charlie.

He stood in the door muttering something about needing to get a baseball bat. Louder he said, "Come home whenever you want, and be safe!"

I nodded my understanding and pulled Jacob by the hand to his beat up Volkswagen Rabbit.

Ready or not, I was jumping headlong into the real world, and there was no safety catch.


	19. Believe

Sorry for the delay. I am posting this as soon as I write it. I did not get the number of reviews I wanted for the last chapter, but I posted it anyway. You are probably confused so for those who don't have me on author alert, I posted that chapter under outtakes for this story. It just didn't fit right and I wasn't too proud of it, but since people were asking for an Edward POV, I tried to write it. If you want to read it just go on my profile. Oh and thanks to my best friend in the whole world for listening to me as I gripped about songs. Also thanks to wonderful, amazing, quick beta.

Also I messed up a bone in my hand and am currently in a splint, so typing one handed is slowing me up a bit. Oh and if you want a good read, try Emancipation Proclamation, it has some deep, troubling topics, and I would normally refuse to read this type of story but my beta convinced me, and it kept me up until four in the morning reading it.

R and R. Really long chapter so show some love and push that little review button.

Jacob drove without any music which surprised me and made me grateful. Judging by the cds littering his car, this wasn't a normal occurrence. I assumed it had something to do with me, and I realized that he got those little quirks of mine.

We spent most of the drive in companionable silence. But as he swerved a little to avoid a fallen branch, I slid into him, our arms brushing. There was a spark of something, as though we were electric shocked, and the silence suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

"So um, what exactly happens at this bonfire?" I asked at the same time he asked me a question. "Are you cold, I could turn the heat up a little?"

We both laughed at the same time and the tension was broken.

I was beginning to feel a little nervous, hoping that this wasn't like Mike's party; but before I could psych myself out too much, we turned off on a small path and found the First Beach.

The party was in full swing when we pulled up, and with relief, I found that it was nothing like the party at Mike's house. A small group of friends were grouped around a pretty blue-green bonfire, eating and laughing. Someone had brought a portable stereo system, but at the moment the only music was coming from a tall guy with a guitar.

"You coming or what?" Jake joked with me, holding out a hand. I shrugged sheepishly. I had been staring at the party in amazement.

Quickly deciding, I grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull me to where his friends were waiting. It felt so strange, not just the physical contact with another person-which was strange enough- but the emotional closeness too.

All of a sudden Jake's hand was ripped from mine, as he was tackled by someone. I looked up and saw the boy with the guitar before my attention was drawn to Jacob who was scuffling with another guy.

I smiled at the boy with the guitar, who smiled back just as shyly. Both of us then looked away and hid behind our hair (his was shoulder length.)

He was tall, slightly taller than Jacob and extremely thin. I was wondering if I should introduce myself when Jacob came up and did it for me.

"Embry this is Bella, Bella this is Embry. And this knucklehead," he pointed to the guy who had tackled him, "Is Quil."

I nodded hi to Quil, who was gazing at me quizzically. He was shorter than the other two, but still pretty tall, and he had bulky muscles. He was proud of them, I guessed, judging as he was wearing a sweater that showed off each bulge of his muscles.

"Hey, aren't you that gymnast girl? Isabella Swan, right?" Quil asked.

I froze, and Jacob covered for me. "Quil, this is Bella," he stated pointedly.

Quil ignored him, "Yeah you are. Hey! You're on my Wheaties Box! Can you show us some tricks?"

"Quil!" Jacob started, but I cut him off.

"No Jake, he's right. I am that 'gymnast girl,'" I used his words against him. "Or I used to be anyway. I quit though. Now I am just Bella. And I am kind of injured right now." I gestured pointedly to my wrist in its brace.

"Well 'just Bella,' I think you are a chicken," Quil challenged, while Jacob sputtered angrily. I, on the other hand, just looked at him.

He began making chicken noises and flapping his arms around.

Jake looked ready to kill him, but I waved him off with a hand. Seeming as though I was walking away, I paced back a few steps. Once I was sure I had enough room, I took a deep breath.

Narrowing my eyes in concentration, I ran forward a step into a one handed round off, completing that move I went into a whip back. Repeating that combination, I ended with a full tuck right in front of Quil's astonished face.

I stood there hands on my hips, staring at him smugly. I felt a spark of my old self come out at his challenge. Throw down a gauntlet (ha ha Em, English class) and I will damn near kill myself to prove you wrong.

His mouth was gaping open. With an audible snap, he closed it again just to open it to speak. "Damn! That was like some superhero shit! Hells Bells," he exclaimed and I giggled.

I was elated from my flips, but I convinced myself it was just the look on Quil's face that made me euphoric.

"Damn! I haven't seen Quil speechless like that… ever," Embry, who seemed to be really quiet, said causing everyone to burst into laughter.

We grabbed some food and just sat and talked for awhile. It was nice and cozy by the fire, which Jacob told me was blue because of the salt.

Then all of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. Everyone gathered closer, and there was an almost electric edge to the group.

"It's time," Quil announced ominously.

"Time for what?" I whispered to Jacob.

"Crazy Christmas Karaoke," he answered.

Oh, that did not sound good, I thought, but was proven wrong.

Crazy Christmas Karaoke consisted of everyone taking turns pulling slips of paper from a Santa hat. Then they had to sing whatever Christmas song was on the paper, while Embry accompanied them on the guitar.

It was so much fun. There were some pretty decent singers in the group, and then there were the singers like Quil, who purposely sang in silly manners (well he was singing the Chipmunks Christmas Song, but he didn't have to do different voices for each part- though I did laugh myself silly.) I even heard Jacob sing, and when he said it was something no one wanted to hear, he wasn't kidding. Still he put out an effort and got into singing White Christmas.  I was enjoying myself when all of a sudden Quil called my name.

"Oh, no. I do not sing," I said, backing away from the group slowly. "Oh yes you do," Quil answered as I bumped into him trying to escape.

"Come on Bella," Jacob joined in. "I sang, you can't be any worse than me." "Yeah, you can't be any worse than Jake, "Jake's friend Paul snorted.

"Bella! Bella! Bella!" Quil started, but the rest soon joined in.

"Fine, fine, fine," I gave in. I marched over to the log where the Santa hat was, and pulled out a song. Believe,  by Josh Groban, from the Polar Express. 

I knew the song well, and was grateful for that at least. I nodded to Embry, and he began strumming the first few chords.

Children sleeping, snow is softly falling  
Dreams are calling like bells in the distance  
We were dreamers not so long ago  
But one by one we all had to grow up  
When it seems the magic's slipped away  
We find it all again on Christmas day

I stated out singing really quietly. Then the lyrics seemed to fill me. I was a dreamer, but I had lost part of my dream. Did that mean I had to give it all up though? Could I find it again with the magic of Christmas?

I closed my eyes as I sang; letting every ounce of emotion that I had felt in the last few months flow through my voice and into the song.

Believe in what your heart is saying  
Hear the melody that's playing

My heart was saying that it was broken. But there was more to it than that. I thought about how my heart had jumped when I was showing off gymnastics moves to Quil.

There's no time to waste  
There's so much to celebrate  
Believe in what you feel inside  
And give your dreams the wings to fly  
You have everything you need  
If you just believe

Was that all it took? Believing? I believed in a lot of things. But there was nothing I had that believed in me back. Like when I was in the gym, I believed in gymnastics, and it believed in me back. Nothing was impossible; it was all just about believing in it enough to succeed.

Trains move quickly to their journey's end  
Destinations are where we begin again  
Ships go sailing far across the sea  
Trusting starlight to get where they need to be  
When it seems that we have lost our way  
We find ourselves again on Christmas day

I lost myself, and I had to find a way to find myself again.

Believe in what your heart is saying  
Hear the melody that's playing  
There's no time to waste  
There's so much to celebrate  
Believe in what you feel inside  
And give your dreams the wings to fly  
You have everything you need  
If you just believe _[x4]_

Just believe

I had to believe. I could do that. No I would do that. I believed that I was hurt and broken. I believed that I had lost what I loved. I believed I had given up the one thing in my life that I was good at.

I believed that everything that mattered to me was lost. My world was shattered into little tiny pieces, just like my heart.

I believed it was too much to bear… no. I didn't believe that, I couldn't believe that, cause if I did, it meant I had given up.

I believed I was the Olympic all around gold medallist, the Golden Girl, the Fighter. I was stronger than that wasn't I?

I believed in me. And that was what would make me strong.

I _believed. _

I opened my eyes as I let the final note die out. There was silence.

Was I that bad a singer?

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Jake Pov (for those who asked.)

She had been so broken. I was drawn to her; I needed to help her. I needed to heal her. I had waited for her every day, hoping she would heal. And then one day she seemed to. I took her to the bonfire and watched as she shone, and showed up Quil- something that didn't happen very often.

But I could see she was still not whole.

It was not until she sang that I got it. Her voice was quiet at first. She had a beautiful voice, not American Idol material, but different and beautiful in a different way.

As she continued singing, something seemed to change in her. Such emotion that I didn't know how anyone could have held it poured out of her. Her voice, pretty before, was now captivating. And I wasn't the only one spellbound.

Everyone seemed enthralled by the petite brunette pouring her heart out in song in front of us.

It was like I could feel some of what was in her. I saw the others' faces, and knew I wasn't the only one either.

I could have killed Edward Cullen with my bare hands for what he did to her.

I don't think anyone had grasped just how broken she was. I don't know if anyone else could have survived the pain she had. It was amazing she was still alive. It was like something had died in her. I didn't know how to help her.

But as she finished singing, one last note held vibrato against the cold night, I felt my heart break for her.

"What? Was I that bad?" she had asked.

Everyone quickly assured her that that wasn't the case; in fact it was the complete opposite.

"Hells Bells," Quil had called her again. Which was a nickname every caught on to. They were completely right with it too. Hells Bells, I knew she had been through hell, and she was back to give it to the world.

As she flushed in embarrassment, I saw something else in her eyes. Something that was more amazing than the way she had just sung- I saw hope.


	20. ROTC tough

Just for the record- this is NOT a Jacob/Bella story. No matter how it may seem right now, this is a Bella/Edward story only!

I am sorry for the wait- I got another flame telling me that I deserved to be in a mental institute for writing this story, and I had just had it. This is like the fourth review like that in as many chapters. I am sick of it! I needed to take a break from this story for a little bit before I ended up killing off all of the characters. Just a note; if you are going to flame this story, don't just stop reading it if you don't like it. It is that simple.

R and R, and if you want a good story to read check out The Heart of a Champion by metallicababy55.

Meg

I walked quietly out of my room, and checked the house to see if Charlie was still home. Thankfully not even New Years Day could keep the faithful Police Chief of Forks out of the office. Okay, it was more like no one else in the office wanted to work today, so Charlie went in, but whatever.

Once I was sure he had already left, I ran back up to my room and got changed. I pulled on yoga pants and shoes quickly, and tried to pull on a sports bra over my head as I pulled my hair into a ponytail.

After stretching my hamstrings and calves, I started by running suicides, but to make them more difficult, I did them up and down stairs.

As the familiar burn in my muscles and lungs began, I let my mind drift.

(flashback)

It was late. An hour or so past midnight on New Year's Eve. Jake and Billy had gone home as soon as the ball dropped, and Charlie had headed upstairs not long after.

I sat there staring at the fire burning merrily in the grate. Ever since Christmas Eve, I had felt an inexorable pull.

Yes, you guessed it, ever since I showed up Quil, gymnastics had been calling. It wasn't like it used to be though. It used to be everything just felt right when I was in the gym; it was a comfort thing, my home away from home- more like my home since I was there more than I was at my actual house.

But now it was kind of like I needed gymnastics just to survive. I needed a reason to get out of bed every morning. A reason to go on. Looking back, I realized that that was part of what the empty feeling had been.

When he had left, he carved a hole in my chest that seemed as though it would never heal. But then I stupidly carved another hole right next to it by quitting. Twin puncture marks that burned and took away my breath.

I couldn't heal them both, but I owed it to myself and to Charlie and Jacob to heal myself the best I could didn't I? I deserved to move on with whatever was left in my life, right?

So it was with that resolve that I wrote my New Year's resolution. I wouldn't give up; I would fight to salvage whatever I could of myself. I was broken and would never be whole again, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

I threw the paper with my resolve into the fire, and watched it burn slowly in the dying embers. As it turned to ash, I made my way upstairs to bed, a plan in place.

(End flashback)

So it was back to training for me. Okay sort of. As much as I missed gymnastics, I just wasn't sure if I was ready for that just yet, if ever.

I had no idea if I could even do it anymore, so I chickened out and decided for now it would be enough just to get back into shape.

I came back to the present with a loud pounding on the front door. Startled, I lost my rhythm and subsequently my footing. Luckily I was only a few steps from the bottom as I thudded down the remaining steps.

I lay there, the wind knocked out of me. The banging on the door stopped, as it suddenly flew open.

Jake was standing there looking concerned. As soon as he saw me lying at the bottom of the stairs he rushed over. "Damn, Bells. Are you all right? I was banging on the door for like five minutes and no one answered and then I heard a huge bang!" he rambled.

I raised my head slightly to see his. The concern was evident on his face, even upside down as it was.

For some reason, I found it really funny. I burst into laughter. I was laughing so hard, and it almost had a hysterical edge to it.

At first Jacob just stared at me even more concerned, like he was thinking I had hit my head or something, but my laughter was contagious; and he started laughing as well.

Soon we were both rolling on the floor laughing. Any time we would start to calm down, one of us would burst back into laughter.

Eventually, we both managed to stop. As I lay there trying to catch my breath, Jacob sat up.

He looked me over and I could see the pieces putting themselves together in his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but instead of asking what I thought he would, he changed tactics.

"Jesus, you are thin girl!" he exclaimed looking down at my ribs and hip bones protruding.

I blew it off. "I am a gymnast, of course I am thin," I retorted.

He didn't look fully convinced, but let it go. "So you _are_ a gymnast again, are you? So that explains the training gear."

I sighed before I sat up as well. He got me, I would have to explain at least most of it. "Ok. So I admit it. I miss gymnastics. I've known this the whole time, but it didn't really hit me until the thing with Quil. I don't know if I am in training per say, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to get back into shape a little."

He seemed to get it right away. Standing up, he reached down to give me a hand up. "Well then, what are we waiting for?" he asked.

I followed him confused as he led me outside and to his car. "Where are we going?" I asked.

He just shook his head. A ten minute ride later, we pulled up near a trailhead.

Jacob got out of the car, and started to stretch his long legs. Bewildered, I did the same.

"Come on. Let's go," he said. He headed to the beginning of the trailhead at a leisurely jog.

I was still slightly mystified, but I just decided to go with it. I followed after him.

We continued at a leisurely pace for a little bit, and I was feeling good as I settled into my stride.

After a mile or so, he lengthened his stride. It was just about this point that the ground began to incline. As we ran along our way, the incline became steeper and the altitude increased. With the increased altitude came thinner air, which made it even harder to breathe than before.

I struggled for a bit and managed to keep up, until he picked up the pace even more. "God, Jake," I huffed. "Not all of us have legs as long as Texas! And what is with all of the altitude?"

He just looked over his shoulder at me with a smile. It bugged me to see that he was barely winded. I mean I know I was out of shape for an elite athlete, but for a regular person, I was in great shape.

"You wanted to get back into shape and here is the way to do it. The altitude will help your stamina, and keeping up to my long legs will present a challenge. When you can keep up, you know you are ready shortie."

"I'm not that short, some people are just mutants," I muttered under my breath. He was right though. Everything he had said was true so instead of wasting my breath arguing pointlessly, I just threw myself into the run with renewed determination.

By sheer determination, I managed to keep up with him the whole way. Eventually we came out near a red barn like house.

I went to ask him where we were, but he beat me to the punch.

"This is my house," Jake told me, but instead of heading inside like I thought we would, he headed instead to what looked like a couple sheds stuck together.

Once inside I saw a veritable workout heaven. Unfortunately I was still a little sore from the crazy ass run and my fall down the steps.

"Here." Jacob threw me a bottle of lukewarm water. I gulped some down, not caring that it was bad for me, and had barely caught my breath before he gestured to the mats in the middle of the 'floor.'

"Crunches."

"Ugh. Are you crazy?" I muttered. "We just ran like a marathon. And besides, I have seen ROTC programs less strict than this!"

That is when he crossed the line. "Ok, fine. I just thought gymnasts were tough. But if you don't think you can keep up with me that's cool." He shrugged, and his words sparked my competitive side.

"Oh it is on!"

"Bring it shortie."

Rather than dignify his slight with a response, I just started doing crunches.

He beat me in crunches by a few, but I kicked his butt for a hollow hold ab workout. He lifted heavier weights- I mean that was a given- but I beat him in pushups.

The rest of the day followed that order, and when Charlie showed up with pizzas, we were forced to admit a tie.

I slipped on a jacket, and we ran through the rain to the Black's house. I was laughing and carefree.

We ended up racing to the front door, and despite my fatigue, I managed to beat him, that is until he grabbed me around the waist and swung me around.

He was still swinging me in the air when Charlie stepped out onto the porch to see what was taking us so long.

Jake put me down, and we made our way into the house, but not before I was confused by the knowing look in Charlie's eyes.


	21. Beatcha'

I am posting this without editing it or sending it to my beta, so I apologize for any mistakes.

I have a few things to say so I apologize for the long A.N. I have received yet another flame: that is five for the last five chapters. Concerning this, I have two things to say.

One, I want to thank my faithful reviewers and supporters. I feel like all I have been talking about lately are the flames. I really do appreciate you guys though, and hope you will continue to show me your support through reviews.

Two, to the flamers, or flamer: I just want to say if you want to flame this, go right ahead. I am sick of you ruining my story for me and making the others wait for an update because I am too pissed off to write. So say whatever you want, because I am going to write this story my own way, and I will update when I can. If you want to waste your time trying to put me and my story down, have fun, because that all it is a waste of your time. Not mine or anyone else's and it is not detrimental to me or anyone but yourself.

"Ha, I beatcha!" I squealed, pumping my fist in the air in triumph.

It was a few weeks later, and with a ton of hard work, I had finally managed to beat Jacob. I lagged behind him for most of the five mile uphill trek, but when we scaled the final hill, I pushed myself.

He had the height advantage, with longer legs, but I put all of my weight and muscle behind me as I catapulted my body ahead of his by a few lengths.

Jake collapsed in the grass, panting hard as I danced around in victory. I cart wheeled- my wrist being almost completely healed; a little shaky, but getting stronger every day.

I flopped down in a split beside his head. "Hey, I thought swimmers, were supposed to be tough? I laughed throwing his earlier words back into his face.

He ignored the jibe, and my jubilant mood, suddenly turning serious.

"You know Bells," he said, using a shortened version of the nickname Quil gave me. "The only way you are ever going to know if you are ready, is to get back into the gym. You are in the best shape I can get you in, now it's up to you."

I avoided looking in his eyes. "Jake, I don't know if I can even do it anymore. I can't go back in that gym and face them all. I want to, but I just can't." I blinked back tears.

"So don't go back to them," he said as if it was the easiest solution in the world. "But you do need to get back into training."

"But where? I can't go to a gym in Seattle without anyone knowing, and I am not ready to go public until I am sure I still have it."

"I never said anything about Seattle."

I looked at him in puzzlement and slight irritation, his zen-know-it-all-attitude was getting on my nerves. "Huh?" I questioned.

He stood up. "Come on, I have something to show you."

He held out his hand to help me up. I took it, and followed him curiously.

He led me to a small building on the edge of their property that I had never noticed before.

Jake opened the door and flashed the lights on, but before I could investigate, he covered my eyes with his hands.

I was forced to follow him blindly as he led me into the building. I allowed my other senses to explore.

I smelled the familiar smell of magnesium chalk, but it was slightly dusty smelling. I felt the smooth feel of mats under my feet as we walked forward. Before my brain could put the pieces together though, I was lifted into the air and placed on something very familiar.

"A balance beam!" I stated.

"Not just that," Jake said, removing his hands from my eyes. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw a gym. A real veritable, full of equipment, gym. It wasn't as top class as the Cullen's new gym, but it was perfectly serviceable.

"What is this?" I questioned, swinging my legs back and forth.

"Well, before my mom, Sarah, died," Jake explained. "She taught gymnastics. When she had the accident, my dad couldn't bear to continue the lessons, but he also couldn't bear to get rid of the gym, or take it down. I cleaned it all up for you and checked the equipment, so it is all safe and everything…"

Before he could finish his sentence, I had sprung myself off the beam, and was hugging him as tight as I could. "It's perfect!" I squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you Jake! It's perfect! How can I thank you?"

He laughed at my exuberance. "Just go do some flips or something. Show me what you've got."

I smiled and headed to the beam. Just to make him laugh, I did a round-off whip, just to 'do some flips, or something.'"

I started just getting my bearings on the beam. I wanted to throw some tricks, but too many years of 'floor first," training kicked in.

Once I was sure I was warmed up, I slid off the beam and walked to a point of the floor where there was a painted line.

I threw a few basic tricks until I was satisfied. I knew I was capable of much harder tricks, but I also knew that I needed to work my way back up into top form first. I had to work to my limitations at the moment, as much as it killed me to do so.

I glanced over at Jake a few times, worried that he might be bored, but every time I caught sight of him, he seemed perfectly content to just be watching me as I threw tricks.

He was lounging back on some mats, but his eyes followed each move I made, as though trying to figure me out.

I had started on balance beam, because that apparatus took the most confidence. I knew if I get my skills on the balance beam back, I could do it all.

Knowing I was as prepared as I could get at the moment, I left the white practice line, and eyed the beam speculatively. I wanted to try my signature mount, but I had trouble with that when I was in the best shape of my life, and it probably wouldn't be any easier when I was out of competition shape, and hadn't done it or any hard trick on the beam in a long time.

I decided not to push it too much, but to still test myself. I decided to try an older routine that was slightly easier.

I placed my hands on the beam hip length apart, and balanced my weight gingerly on my hands, testing my weight on my recovering wrist. As it wasn't painful, I pushed off into a handstand. As I was coming into the handstand, I arched my back a little and bent my legs artistically. I held the pose for a second, but in my arch, I had overextended a little, and that was all it took.

I tried desperately to recover and keep myself on, but all I managed to do was slide right off and onto my butt.

"Bella! Are you ok?" Jake asked, running over to me concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, exasperated at my fail.

The second time I tried it to similar results. "Maybe you should try a different mount?" Jake suggested timidly.

"No," I practically growled. "My wrist just isn't used to supporting my weight yet."

I studied the beam for a few minutes before I tried again, this time I pictured myself doing it perfectly, and lo and behold, I hit it perfectly.

Jacob cheered, and I allowed myself a brief smile, before focusing wholly again.

I did a few 'fluff' moves to get me to about a third of the way down the end of the beam. Once there I pirouetted. Taking a deep breath, I flipped forward and then twice backwards in a front layout back handspring, back layout step-out combination.

In other words, I flipped my body forward in an extended position, then still in motion, flipped back until my hands touched the beam, pushing off in the air backwards again. This time I was also in an extended position, and when I landed I took a step back, finishing the 'step-out' part of the combination.

Ok so I admit it wasn't picture perfect, and I almost fell off, but held on by pure determination. I wobbled and had to swing a leg out, but I kept myself on the beam.

Alright, I thought to myself. I might be able to do this.

I tried a sheep leap into a side semi. A sheep leap is a hard move on its own, because you lose sight of the beam when you bend your head back to meet your pointed toes. The combination made it that much harder.

I landed it pretty well, and only had a slight pause before I jumped into my side semi.

This I didn't land so well. I wind-milled my arms trying to stay on, but I had flipped with my shoulders too misaligned with the beam, and there was no recovery. I landed perfectly on my feet, but not on the beam, on the mat below it.

I got back on, but just couldn't land it no matter how many times I tried. I knew it would come with the numbers though. The more times I did the skill, the more confident and perfect I would get it.

After awhile I gave up on beam. I would have enough bruises for awhile. Instead I began to work on some of my dance elements on floor to end on a good note.

The time flew by and soon I had to go make dinner for Charlie.

I brushed off all the chalk the best I could and got changed as soon as I got home so he wouldn't be suspicious of my chalked covered self.

It was Jake and my secret for now, and I thanked the Gods that I had met him. Only a teenage guy would think nothing of keeping the fact that I was attempting dangerous skills that could kill or maim me without a coach a secret from our parents.


	22. Little Miss Gymnast

Ok this is unedited cause both my beta and I are busy. Thanks to my reviewers.

The review count was almost half of what it normally is, so I am going to give a little incentive. First five to review get a sneak peek, and if I get at least 40 reviews, I will post the next chapter within the next two days.

And there is a special treat for all of those who don't like Lauren in this chapter. R and R.

XOXO

Meg

Over the next week or so I developed a grueling, exhausting, but satisfying schedule.

Every morning I would wake around five am, go for a run, sneak back into the house before Charlie woke, shower and get ready for school. Then I would spend six or so hours in class lamenting the fact that I was missing training time. The second the final bell rang, I was in my truck on the way to Jake's and that little gym that I was beginning to think of as my salvation.

A few, short hours of training and I would have to hurry home to keep Charlie from getting suspicious. I lived for the days he stayed late at the station and I would get a few extra hours practice in.

After dinner I would make up some excuse and sneak out for another run in the woods. Sometimes Jake would join me, but most times I was on my own for this. After my run, I would blare some music to block out the noises of the hundreds of crunches, sit ups, supermans, pushups… that I was doing. And finally I would cram in some homework before falling exhausted into bed, where I would get a few hours of sleep before waking up with nightmares- well nightmare, because it was always the same one- then I would wake up and it would start all over again.

It was a little frustrating for me. I was slowly improving, but that was the frustrating part. Slowly just wasn't good enough for my perfectionist self. I knew it was a combination of fighting back from the worst shape of my life, the limited practice time, and something else that I couldn't quite describe. I wasn't the same gymnast I used to be, and that was what scared me more that any trick. But the excuses, though real, didn't seem good enough for me.

I still had drive, but it wasn't the same. It was almost a desperate grasping, dependence on gymnastics. I was afraid of what I would become when I forced to give up the sport for good, because it was the only thing helping me keep sane. Almost disregarding this, I was getting more and more reckless in my training. I was getting frustrated by not being able to stick moves that were hard, but something that had come easily to me before.

The most aggravating thing came in the beginning of the third week of February which was about the second week since I had begun training in the gym. Charlie had banned me from training- well in his mind hanging with Jake- for two weeks.

I took full responsibility for it. It all happened at school. I had walked into gym class, which I was now forced to participate in since my wrist was healing, and saw gymnastic equipment set up.

I balked. I was not ready to get up in front of my classmates and do gymnastics. Hell I could definitely show them up if I wanted to, but it just wasn't my thing. Plus it felt wrong. Nothing like Jake's little gym.

So I sat down on the bleachers and refused to participate. That night, Charlie got an irate call from the coach/gym teacher. The second day I went to class properly chagrined.

I had every intention of at least pretending to participate. But that's when the comments started.

"Look at little Ms. Gymnast Extraordinaire," Lauren had said. "I bet she can't do any of this stuff, that's why she is in regular school and why she is refusing to do anything. I bet I could make it to the Olympics for gymnastics if she could."

With that she pushed herself into a handstand, and when she was able to hold it for more than a few seconds looked proud of herself.

I just shook my head, determined to be on my best behavior. That girl had no clue what it took to be a gymnast. Let alone an elite one at that. The first time she broke a nail she would probably quit.

I stood staring at one of the school's decrepit balance beam. Ok it wasn't that bad, it was just _really_ old. Maybe if I looked as though I was doing something, no one would bother me, I thought to myself. So much for that I thought as Lauren came closer, slid into a mediocre split, and stage whispered to Jessica.

"That's probably why Edward left her. Cause she is a zero. I bet she faked her gold medal."

Despite the absurdness of her statement, I was seeing red.

I whirled, wholly intending to put her in her place.

"Swan! Stop standing there and do something!"

Fine! Coach Clapp wanted me to do something. I would do it.

I took a few steps back and zeroed in on the beam. I was being reckless, extremely reckless. I still hadn't gotten my signature mount down enough to be safe, but I was pissed, and I was driven.

I raised my right leg to waist level and swung it down with force; flipping my body through the air almost completely over the beam. At the perfect second in time, I arched my back and caught the beam with my two hands. My legs followed through, halting at a perfect 90 degree angle. Hardly pausing, I lifted my left arm and swung my left leg under it. I now balanced my body in a perfect handstand. I held that for two seconds, before flipping up and back into a back handspring.

I pirouetted, but before I could do anything more, Coach Clapp interrupted my concentration.

"You know Ms. Swan, I used to dabble in gymnastics a little myself in college. Nothing serious, but I picked up a few tricks here and there. I think you should work on your form in that move. You arched your back a little during the mount. Maybe next time, try to straighten out a bit."

I stared at him incredulously for a second. He was seriously trying to give _me_ gymnastics advice. Me! And how the hell would I catch myself while flipping facing away from the beam without arching backwards to catch the beam. For goodness sakes, Bela Karolyi himself had helped me create this mount.

"See," Lauren remarked loud enough for everyone to hear. "She is just washed up. She can't even get on the beam right. That move isn't that hard at all I bet."

I scoffed internally. Yeah, ok. Getting enough momentum while stationary to flip your body over the beam, not to mention being able to stop that momentum in time to catch yourself was simple, sure.

I had had it. Between Lauren and Coach Clapp's comments, I was about to snap.

I was a freaking Olympic gymnast, scratch that, Olympic Champion, and gosh darn it I was going to prove it.

Proceeding on pure anger and adrenaline, I continued to take risks. I tried a Liukin, a move I had been unable to land in practice, but I was so in line with the beam right now, I knew I could do it.

Bang on!

By this point every one of my classmates had gathered around the beam to watch. Ignoring them, I did a side sumi.

It was one of the moves that had been giving me the most trouble in practice because it was a skill that required a lot of confidence. In essence, it was similar to a cartwheel, but it was performed without hands and with legs in a tucked position.

I landed it without as much as a balance check.

Deciding not to push my luck much more, but wanting to go out with a bang, I stood at the end of the beam, and prepared for my dismount.

I took two powered strides into a round off. It was essentially a cartwheel, but while flipping, I connected my legs and landed with both feet together. Using the momentum of my round off, I punched off the end of the beam into the air into a layout.

As I kept my body straightened, I flipped one and a half times in the air.

Snapping my body around, I somehow managed to stick the move. Flourishing my arms in a salute, I stalked off the mat and grabbed my bag.

Stalking through my gaping, speechless classmates, I headed straight to Lauren.

"If what I do is so easy, then try that," I told her scathingly. "You know _nothing _about me. You have no clue what it takes, and you never will. And by the way, you can't fake an Olympic gold medal. They award it to you on National television in front of millions of people. I can't quite remember why though… oh yeah. They give it to you for being the best, not that you would know anything about that. And I have more than one. Maybe I'll show them to you one day when you've managed to pick your jaw off the floor."

"Don't _ever_ gossip about me again. Especially when you have no clue what you are talking about," I whispered in her ear.

With that I had stalked from the room.

That night after another phone call from Coach Clapp, Charlie had laid down the edict. No hanging out with Jake for two weeks.

I was devastated, no training for two weeks, and no Jake. I almost went out of my mind.

But the school week eventually ended. I had made it through only slightly more frazzled than I normally was. It got better after Coach Clapp decided to leave me on mine own.

He let me run laps and do other calisthenics. That's what I did Wednesday. By Thursday, I was beginning to be desperate for training time, even in that gym.

But still my stubborn side stopped me from swallowing my pride and training in gym class.

By Friday, I decided on a compromise. I was properly ashamed of my behavior earlier in the week, though it was justifiable, so to make it up to Coach Clapp, I asked if I could help the others with gymnastics.

Though self important, he wasn't an unreasonable man, so it was with an understanding that I finished that long week. It was even kind of fun to watch and help the others. Even better, I got to see Lauren fall… a lot. She had even taken to wearing a leotard- and a gaudy one at that- instead of the gym uniform the rest of us were forced to wear. I don't know how she got it by the Coach, but she somehow got away with it.

But it was still a great experience watching her eat mat.

And finally the best part was, that Charlie, after hearing about my helping out in gym, decided to cut my punishment in half.

So I was currently pushing my decrepit truck as fast as it would go towards the La Push Reservation, and that little piece of heaven.


	23. Houston We Have a Problem

Here is the next chapter. This is unedited. I was trying to post earlier, but I am sorry but events beyond my control kept me from writing. Anyway I just finished this and I am trying to post quickly so I haven't even read over it. If there are mistakes, I know there are, so I apologize. Anyway thanks for the reviews! Still trying for 35. Oh and say hi to Kaity R- who is an OC, but she is here for a reason that I know a lot of you will like. First five reviewers- and Kait you do NOT count, will get the answer to why i wrote her in.

Meg

"So the Chief let you off punishment early?" Jake asked.

I just nodded, stripping off my yoga pants and loose t-shirt, eager to get back to practicing.

"Damn Bells, you look good!" Jake said.

"Shut, up you perv," I retorted.

"What!? I could have meant your training."

I looked up from my split. "All I am doing is stretching."

"Ok fine! I admit it. I just love a girl in a leotard," he joked dramatically.

"Like I said, perv." Though it did kind of make me feel good. Most of the time I had been training in workout clothes, since I had donated a lot of leotards for charity and packed the others away, but I had dug a box that Charlie had kept in the garage out during my punishment. I pulled a few of the tank ones to be used for workouts, but some of the other ones in that box still had too many memories attached.

"Good news though. Charlie is away all weekend at a workshop in Seattle, so I can work out as long as I want!"

Jake shook his head. "You are crazy girl," he laughed good naturedly.

I started on vault. It was the one apparatus I hadn't done anything on yet. I was procrastinating, because the vault was my least favorite event.

I was good at it, not the best, but good at it nonetheless. It was my weakest event, and I knew I had to get that up in order for any of the work I was doing to even be worth it.

I started with a few warm up runs, nothing serious. I made sure that the spring board was set up to the right length, and then went to the end of the runway.

I ran towards it a few times just to see where I felt comfortable taking off. I usually used about three quarters of the allotted space, and I used just a slight bit more. That was good; it meant I wasn't too far off my game.

Finally I felt ready for a real run. I decided on just an easy layout over the vault.

With a little hop for momentum, I powered my way down the runway in a full out run.

I hit the spring board and pushed off. Immediately, I knew something was wrong.

It felt wrong to me. When I hit the table, my right shoulder wasn't aligned right. I pushed off and managed to correct it in the air, but in my miscalculation, I landed strange. I locked my legs which is the absolute worst thing you can do on a landing.

Gymnasts have blown knees and worse for landing locked. The first thing you learn on vault, or really any apparatus, was to never land and lock your knees.

So although I managed to stick it, it was not good. I was rattled, but I shook it off.

Walking back to the spot I had marked with a line of chalk, I tried again.

This time I balked. The third time, I scratched.

Finally I was forced to give up on vault. Multiple attempts had gone wrong. The few that I had managed to get over, had all had major missteps. From crossed-legged landings, to out of bounds, to on my ass. And the worst part is that it is one of the easiest vaults in the world to do. I knew I could nail it, but I had to get over this block I had developed.

It was about this time that Jake showed up with sandwiches and some water- he had disappeared a little bit ago, I guess to go get the food.

"Here," he told me, handing me the sandwich. "I figured if I didn't force you to eat, you would just keep practicing and forget to eat."

I nodded my thanks. He knew me so well. I dug into the sandwich. "Yum, grilled cheese with bacon!" I said appreciatively.

His face colored. He was embarrassed by my praise. "It's nothing," he said, walking away and pushing one of the rings.

I followed him. Grabbing hold of the rings, I pulled myself up and slid my legs in so I was sitting in the rings. At this height, I was his height, if not slightly taller.

I just looked at him, wondering what had caused his sudden melancholy mood.

He stared back. I began swinging in the rings a little, like a kid on a playground swing set.

His hands shot out suddenly, and he caught the rings, holding them still. I bit my lip as his face came closer to mine. "Bells?" he breathed. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

I just nodded wordlessly.

He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it seeming to rethink what he was going to say.

"When I met you, do you know what I saw?"

I shook my head, wondering where he was going with this.

"I saw a strong, beautiful, talented, indescribably amazing girl who had the world at her fingertips and she didn't even know it. And do you know what I see now?"

I just looked at him, afraid to respond, cause I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer.

"I see that same girl who still has the world at her fingertips, only she is too broken to reach out and grab it. She is even stronger than she was before, but she is holding herself back by not believing in herself, and it is killing me. She has so much to offer, and she can't even see it. I know what he did to you Bells…"

At this point, I couldn't take it. Tears were streaming down my face. I slid out of the rings, unable to look at him. I walked over to the balance beam and leapt up, straddling it. He followed me though, and stood at the end so we were eye to eye.

"I know what he did to you," he plowed on resolutely. "And I could kill him for it. But I never would because I know that would hurt you. I promise you I will never hurt you…." With that he leaned forward, his face inches from mine.

He hesitated gauging my reaction. I didn't move. I couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't pull back.

His lips meet mine softly, sweetly. And those two seconds were all it took. Both of us pulled away.

"Oh weird!" Jake exclaimed.

"Yeah, weird," I agreed.

"So you felt nothing?" Jake questioned.

"Nothing!" I confirmed. "God it was like kissing my brother! Ugh!"

We both laughed and that awkward moment was forgotten. I got back to training, this time on the bars.

I was pleased with my improvement on bars. It was the event that I was having the least trouble getting back to my harder moves.

Today after warming up, I decided to try my reverse hecht, also known as a Tkatchev.

I swung a few times on the bar to get the feel of it. Then I pirouetted so I was facing backwards on the bar. I swung in a backwards giant (basically just swinging around the bar, backwards.)I released the bar, arching my back and flew over it backwards, catching the bar.*(a.n. definition at bottom)*

Or at least that is what should have happened. In reality when I released and went over the bar, I went a little too far, and landed on my side on the mat. I had released too early.

"Shit!" I cursed. Under the immediate pain of mat burn, I could feel a slight throbbing in my ribs. Self evaluating myself, I knew nothing was broken.

"Bella! Are you ok?!" Jake had run over in concern. It must have been a bad sight because he was so used to me falling and yelling at him for rushing over by now that he usually just called out to see how I was.

"I'm fine!" I grunted, standing with a little difficulty. The fall had kind of dazed me for a second.

"Are you sure?" he eyed me dubiously.

I just glared before hoisting myself up onto the low bar in a standing position and reaching for the high bar.

"Ok," he said as I swung around a few more times. "I have to go though, so don't stay too long, and don't kill yourself, cause I won't be around to take you to the hospital."

I just nodded, and I think he saw. The next few attempts were pretty good. I mean not gold medal good yet, but getting there.

I decided to try one more before I quit for the night. As much as I wanted to continue, I was really starting to feel the aches and pains in my body, and determined as I was, I knew how dangerous it was to overtrain.

I swung into my backwards giant and released, I released too late this time.

Instead of landing on the relative comfort of the mat, I landed on top of the bar. Pain shot through me, and I couldn't stop myself as I landed on the floor. *(A.N. I could be mean and end it here, but I am going to continue.)*

I fought to keep myself from blacking out. I might have lost that battle for a second or two, but I fought to keep it together.

I lay on the mat frozen in pain for a while.

When I finally got myself together, I did a mental analysis of my body. I knew from experience nothing was seriously damaged. No breaks or sprains.  
I even ran my hand gingerly over my ribs. None were broken, seriously bruised, and maybe a few pulled muscles all around, but I had dealt with worse.

Knowing that I was done for the day, I carefully pulled my clothes on over my leotard.

Knowing I needed more first aid supplies, and not wanting to go to the hospital, I drove to the store. Being that it was almost 7:30, and Forks, most stores had already closed.

I was forced to drive to Port Angeles.

I was lucky enough to find a 24 hour CVS. I headed straight to the first aid section. I started piling one or two of almost everything in the aisle into my little basket.

"What are you doing?!"

I turned quickly, wondering if I could hide all of the supplies in my basket.

"I'm Kaity…."

"Oh my God. You are Kaity R!"

She smiled. "Yeah and you are Isabella Swan."

"Bella," I corrected automatically.

Kaity R was one of the most known names in the gymnastics world. She was like a renegade gymnast. Technically she was at the elite level skill wise, but she was generally scored unfairly or kicked out of competitions for the dangerous skills she performed/performs.

She was the Olga Korbut of America. She traveled around the country getting kicked out and/or leaving gym after gym. In short she was kick ass.

"Bella," she repeated. Then her eyes narrowed. "You are back in training."

It was a statement not a question. "I had heard you retired. Unofficially retired of course. But I guess they were wrong."

I quickly panicked. "Uh no, they are right. I am retired. Well unofficially. You know endorsements and all."

"Then why are you buying every medical supply in the entire state of Washington? And why are you wincing when you move? And why are you…" She grabbed the edge of my shirt under my jacket, revealing the leotard I had under my clothes. "Wearing a leotard under your clothes?"

I bit my lip. Shoot.

"You are in big trouble missy."

Scratch that, _SHIT!_

Houston, we have a problem. A _big_ problem.


	24. Little Miss Rebels

Sorry for the long wait, I could explain in detail but I am sure you would rather read the chapter. So let's just say working ten hour days, plus random other shit makes for NO TIME! So I apologize. To make up for it the first ten reviewers get to ask any question that I will answer to the best of my ability. Include your question in your review and I will answer.

R AND R! Not Edited!

Meg

"So let me get this straight. You were kidnapped by a pair of crazy fans, you almost died escaping said crazy fans, and then your boyfriend broke up with you while in the hospital recovering from the kidnapping because you weren't good enough for him. Then you quit gymnastics because of all of this, and decided to cut yourself off from everyone. You decided to get back into gymnastics after showing up a teenage boy who thought it was the coolest thing in the world that you were on his Wheaties box. But you can't face anyone, so you are training in a hidden gym without any coach?" Kaity R asked me.

"Well when you put it that way, it sounds stupid, but yeah," I answered.

"Well count me in!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"Well I was going to check out that gymnastics palace that Carlisle Cullen set up, but this sounds like more fun."

"It's really not much. I mean it's just some equipment and like no coaches or anything. I mean it's great for me. I love it, but I don't know." I loved Jake's gym, but it was kind of my own haven, and if I looked at it objectively, it was run down. What would another gymnast think of it?

"Come on. It will be a challenge," she begged. "It will be fun! And we can even help each other with our gymnastics."

I thought it over for a second. She does have a point. And it never mattered to me before what people thought, so why should I start now.

"Ok, I'll tell you what. Meet me tomorrow and we can give it a chance, but I have to talk to my friend Jake. Technically he owns it, and he is letting me train there, but I don't know if he would be cool with someone else there. It kind of was his mother's before she died, and he is a little protective of it."

"Perfect! And I am sure it won't be a problem. This is going to be awesome!" she enthused.

I smiled at her enthusiasm, and wrote down directions to Jake's place, planning to call him with a heads up as soon as I got home.

Saying goodbye, I left the little café that we had grabbed some coffee in after we left CVS, and headed home.

I quickly jumped into the shower, wincing every time the stream of water hit one of the sore spots on my body.

I pulled out the plethora of first aid supplies that I had bought, and went to work. I intended to call Jake as soon as I was done, but after wrapping my ribs, and applying a ton of ice packs to various parts of my body, I feel asleep without calling him.

I woke up early the next morning, hoping to get as many hours of practice in as possible.

I stretched and was happy to feel only a slight soreness around my ribs.

Despite my injuries from the day before, I was feeling ok. I had a high pain tolerance, and was a quick healer.

Digging through my newly resurrected pile of workout leotards which was slim pickings, I paused as I pulled out a deep purple leotard. My fingers ran over the tear in the side.

My breathing accelerated and my heart rate spiked, as I relived the flashbacks of that day. Flashing through my mind, the images sped as my horror increased.

I forced myself to break free of it. At this point I was on my knees on the floor. Breathing heavily, I pressed my forehead to the carpet.

When I was able to stand, I grabbed a leotard that I had never worn before. It was a pure black sleeveless leotard that matched my mood. Alice had bought it for me, saying that I needed to be more 'fashion chic.' Although how you could be fashionable in a leotard while working out, was beyond me. But whatever, I was glad for it because it matched my mood.

I walked out into the still dark morning. It was a gloomy day and it wasn't helping my mood any.

I drove as fast as I could push my ancient truck towards the little gym. I knew only one thing could make me feel better now.

I pulled up just in time to see Jake walk into the gym. Sneaking up behind him, I slid in the door before it closed.

"Hey Bells," he said, and I though he sensed me behind him, but then I realized he was addressing the gymnast swinging on the uneven bars.

Oh shit, I had totally forgot that Kaity R was going to come to the gym that day. With my second duh moment of the day, I also realized I forgot to give Jake a heads up last night. Oops?

"Hey! You aren't Bella!" Jake accused as he noticed that she was a tiny blond person and not brunette and slightly taller like me.

"What tipped you off?" she asked snarkily straightening from the double tuck dismount she had just nailed.

Jake stalked toward her angrily. "This is private property and you are trespassing! And now you are going to leave." With that he grabbed her arm.

Next thing I know and I still can't figure out how it happened, Jake was lying on the ground, pinned by the 90 odd pound girl sitting on his chest. I have no clue how she managed it, let alone kept him down considering his arm was about as thick as her waist.

I jumped in quickly. "Umm Jake? I kind of forgot to tell you, Kaity was going to be joining us today. We ran into each other last night, and she wanted to train with me. I meant to call you last night to ask if it was ok, but I kind of fell asleep…" I trailed off with a look of pure apology on my face.

Jake, being Jake, got over his anger pretty quickly.

I could see it in his face. He was a generally care-free kind of guy. It took a lot to get him angry and it rarely ever lasted.

"So is it ok?" I wheedled.

"Yeah it's fine, but can you get off my chest?" He looked up at Kaity as he said this.

I expected her to jump right up, as I would have done in that situation, but she surprised me.

"Nah, I think I'm pretty comfy where I am, I think I might stay awhile," she said.

They just looked at each other until I cleared my throat to cut the awkward moment.

This time Kaity did jump up and offered her hand to Jake to help him up. It was kind of funny when she pulled him to his feet without any visible effort, yet she still managed to make him stumble a little from the momentum.

"Damn shortie! You've got some serious muscle!"

And with that we got to training. The strange exchange between my two friends was quickly forgotten.

It was almost like being in a real training gym again. We did all different sorts of cardio and exercises and calisthenics first.

Unlike the half-assed workouts I had been able to squeeze in during the last few weeks, this was hard core. And to my surprise I found that I was actually up to it.

"So what is your deal?" I asked her as she sat on my legs as I leaned the upper half of my body off one of the blocks in the gym. She was counting off the number and different types of crunches I did.

"Thirty… thirty one… What do you mean? Thirty two…"

"I mean why do you want to train here with me despite it being a challenge? I mean there is so much more you can learn with Carlisle even if he is a little strict with his workouts and rules."

"I think I can learn a lot more from you," she said, ignoring my incredulous look. "And I think I can teach you a few tricks too. Plus won't it be fun if two gymnasts who train themselves turn out to be better gymnasts than any of the robots that are being trained in hundreds of gyms across the country. Hell even the world!"

Ignoring the improbability of that statement and the fact that even if it was possible, I would have to first agree to get back into competition, I countered.

"You are such a rebel!"

"You are a little rebel yourself," she told me.

She gave me a look that made me know that brooking any arguments wasn't an option.

"I'm serious. You never stuck to the routines choreographed for you by the bigwigs in charge, you are training by yourself, and you still always managed to win, but in your own style. Neither of us are exactly what you could call the cookie cutter gymnast types."

I opened my mouth planning to disagree, when I thought about it. When it came down to it, I really wasn't your typical gymnast. I always put my own little flair into my routines. They had to be approved by the USA gymnastics committee and Marta Karolyi, and I always pushed the limits to as what was allowed. I never threw any illegal moves, but I always made my own, or put twists on moves done by others.

Sensing my defeat, she grabbed my hand and pulled me off the block. "Come on girl, we've got some training to get to."

And that was just what we did. She was completely right, the two of us learned so much from each others.

It was like our two very different types of gymnastics played off each other only to come back stronger.

In just that first day, she managed to get me over my vault block. Not only that, but she also helped me start to turn my Yurchenko one and a half (roundoff to punch off the vault into the air with a one and a half twist) into a Yurchenko double full (roundoff to punch off the vault and into the air with two twists and two flips). It was perfect with the new Quadrennium, the difficulty score between a Yurchenko one and a half and a Yurchenko double full, was now separated ever more. Now the difficulty score for the one and a half was a 5.3 and the double full is 5.8. So if I execute the double full cleanly it has already raised my score by a .5 of a point. (*A.N. explanation at bottom.*)

And I taught her a few tricks as well. Artistically, she was lacking. She had all of the power, but very little dance.

That would cost her in the new code of points just as my previous vault had.

So I helped her with some of the more artistic and sometimes hardest tricks on beam, bars and floor.

On beam we worked on attaching a double ring leap (jump with head thrown back and knees bent (one to the front and one to the back) and raised towards the head), to a back handspring step out (back handspring where you 'step out' or step backwards after landing.)

She had to fight to get the flexibility that I exuded on that move, being more of a power gymnast than an artistic flexible one, but she was getting there, just as I was getting my Yurchenko double full.

It was a great system that we had created, and I had a feeling it was going to kick ass.

*A.N. Every four years, following the Olympic cycle, known as a guadrenniun, the gymnastics code of points is revised. This code of points determines difficulty points awarded to different moves. This is part of what makes up the score. There are two scores, the difficulty level- aka the highest possible amount of points the move, or moves, can aquire. Then there is the execution score, which starts from a 10.0 and is detracted from for each mistake, fall, bad form…etc. Also different rules and regulations are put into place to keep from dangerous or superfluous moves from being performed and to keep certain standards. Such as after the Athens Olympics the change from the highest possible score being a perfect 10.0 Also like in the newest quadrennium following the Beijing Olympics, the code of points was changed limiting the amount of moves, and requiring that they be split evenly between dance skills such as leaps, jumps, turns, pirouettes…etc. and acro moves such as flips, handstands…etc. counted in each routine which will be seen in the lower scores in recent months. The deductions have also been increased, also contributing to the lower scores. And the tumbling passes in floor has been limited to four, whereas before a gymnast could have anywhere from three to seven. (sorry if this is confusing, it is the simplest way that I could explain it.)*


	25. You've Got Mail

Sorry for the wait. It wasn't for lack of trying though, I must have rewritten this chapter like five times, Metallicababy55 can attest to that. Anyway I made it pretty long, but I haven't edited it but if I wait to post this until after I edit it, you won't see it for awhile so I decided not to make you wait. Anyway if I get at least 35 reviews I will post a sneak peek at the end of each chapter…. And first five get to ask a question.

Meg

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns my characters, USA gymnastics owns itself, and my Psychology teacher owns the joke.

Over the next few weeks, my life began to resemble an actual life instead of the semi-life that I had been living.

We were training a lot. We figured out a system that seemed to work for us, one that incorporated some of what Carlisle had taught me while also compensating for the lack of training time that we have to deal with.

Sunday, we worked on flexibility and dance elements. Monday, was 'Vault day.' Tuesday, we worked on uneven bars. Wednesday, we tackled the balance beam. Thursday we focused on floor. On Friday, since our school got out at 1:30 for faculty meetings, it was free-for-all, no bars held conditioning. Finally Saturday was our routine day. We were building new routines to fit the new requirements. It would have been perfect, if we hadn't had school. Yup that's right, we both attended Fork's high school. I didn't really have much choice, but Kaity chose to, saying it would be a 'challenge.'

Kaity and I had become best friends really quickly. It was almost like we had been hanging out together our whole lives. Jake called us his chocolate and vanilla girls. I was chocolate, and she was vanilla, which was funny because she was tan and I was… pale to say the least. It was kind of a long story involving a mock fight over what ice cream was better, chocolate or vanilla. The weird thing was the whole fight happened over ice cream, and with our diets, we couldn't even eat it anyway.

But that was just how we were.

Kaity, it turned out, was a native Philadelphian like me. She had moved around a lot as a kid, her dad being in the navy, but her 'home base,' as she called it, was Philly, and she had the accent to prove it.

Once we got to talking about Philly, it was so much fun. All of a sudden it was like being back home. The funniest part though, was poor Jake. Once we got started it was like we were talking a foreign language. He got so confused the one day, that it just kind of became a running joke. Running being the operative word, we were talking so fast that I doubted even Alice could've kept up with us.

It was a Sunday, and we had just arrived at the gym, all at the same time. Kaity had a bag of fruit with her.

"Ya'eat?"she asked me quickly.

"Nah d'you?" I responded just as quickly.

Jake just stared at us in amazement. "What the hell did you guys just say?" It's like a foreign language or something."

"I said, 'Ya'eat?'" Kaity said, a smirk on her face.

"And I responded, 'Nah d'you?'" I said, catching onto her joke.

"Wait….. what?! Did you just call her a Jew?"

"No I said, 'Nah d'you," I said in mock exasperation.

"No, I am a Christian," he responded confused, causing both Kaity and I to burst into laughter.

And it didn't just end there. Workouts and school weren't the only things. We hung out after practice. Charlie could never say no whenever Kaity wanted to stay over. She charmed him completely, or that is what she said. I think he was just happy to see me with another friend, and a gymnast at that.

But of course it couldn't stay like that. I was on the edge of a precipice. I knew I couldn't hide my gymnastics for much longer. Besides the fact that someone was bound to catch on, I knew that I needed to make a decision for myself.

I knew the only way for me to fully move on would be compete again. I was almost back to top shape, and was working on my new routines, so now all that was left was to get my ass in gear and get over my fear.

I procrastinated however, pushing off my decision, telling myself that I would decided the next day, or next week, or if I could stick this trick or that. But I always pushed it off.

I needed a catalyst, and that was just what I got.

I had just come home from Jake's house. Kaity, Jake, and I had been cheering Alice on in Dancing with the Stars. It was becoming a tradition where we would watch, and then immediately bombard the phone and internet lines with votes from landlines, cell phones, and laptops alike.

Well Kaity and I did. Jake just watched us and shook his head at our 'girliness.' He said he was too masculine to watch the show, and resolutely hung out in the corner of the room talking with Quil and Embry whenever we forced him to put it on. But every once in awhile, we would catch all three boys cheering or shouting as they stared intently at the television screen.

But anyway back to the catalyst. I had just gotten home after dropping Kaity off at her house. I walked into the kitchen humming the Killer's Somebody Told Me. 

As I rounded the corner I caught sight of Charlie trying to hide something behind his back. He wasn't quick enough though, I caught sight of an envelope addressed to me. I also noticed it was open.

"Chief!" I said, pretending to be shocked. "That is a federal offence!"

"I…uh…what is?" he stammered.

"Well now I know where I got my amazing lying ability from," I said wryly. "The envelope addressed to me that is open and hidden behind you," I clarified, holding my hand out.

"Oh." He sheepishly pulled the letter from behind his back.

I took it from him and glanced at the return address.

USAG Official Committee.

I froze before taking a deep breath. I glanced up and shone my performance smile to Charlie. It was the smile that had captured millions according to Sports Illustrated, and it seemed to work on Charlie too. Relief flooded his eyes, replacing the fear that was present before. The fear that plainly said he was waiting for me to have another meltdown.

"I'm going to start my homework," I stated, walking casually to the stairs. Charlie was so relieved that he didn't register the fact that it was a Friday night, a Friday night leading to an extended weekend. Therefore homework shouldn't even be a consideration at this point. But whatever as long as I got away without an interrogation, I didn't care.

Making it to my room quickly, I flopped down face first on my bed. Turning just my head, I glanced at the envelope.

Decision one: do I open it, or reopen it, I guess, or just forget it even came?

Decision two: what do I do when I do open it?

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed the envelope and pulled out the sheaf of papers inside.

I skimmed its contents.

_Dear Ms. Swan,_

_We are writing to invite you to the Karolyi Ranch for a training and selection camp…._

I skimmed over the details of when and where and got to the news part.

…_new invitational and we would like to give you the opportunity to compete for a spot on the American team…._

…_.We do hope to see you at the selection camp,_

_Sincerely,_

_Marta Karolyi and the USAG. _

I spent the rest of the night just staring at the letter until I fell asleep.

"Five. Six. Seven. Eight, and one, and two, and three, and four, five… six… seven… eight and…" I counted aloud to myself.

This time, I tried it with some of the music.

"La Traviata? Seriously Bella?" Kaity interrupted.

"Its classical," I defended.

"Yeah a classical bore!" she chipped in from where she was lying on the floor, her legs inclined and her feet resting in Jake's reclined lap.

"Fine… How about this?" I pushed the seek button on the portable CD player on the edge of the floor area.

The jazzy notes of Aaron Goldberg's OAM'S Blues, filled the gym.

"Maybe if you are my seventy-year-old grandma," Jake joked, sending Kaity into a paroxysm of laughter.

"Fine!" I huffed, flopping down next to my two friends. "I give up! You choose my music if you are so good at it.

"Yay!" Kaity squealed. "Ok so here is the thing Bells, they are good songs, but they aren't you."

"What do you mean they aren't me? I picked them!" I said irritated. Ok so I was being a bitch, but I was really stressed over the whole training/selection camp thing.

"Yeah you did, but why did you pick them? Cause they are good for you, or because they are what is considered good by the big wigs?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly closed it when her words sunk in.

Was she right? I mean I had used classical or alternative music for my floor routines in the past, but even then they weren't the types everyone else used. Was I trying to conform because I was afraid if I didn't, I wouldn't make it back in?

"Ok what about Supergirl? Without vocals of course," I suggested.

"Nope," Kaity said. "That was written for the old you."

She had a point there. I mean I was a completely different person and gymnast from who I was then. The song still applied, if anything I was stronger than before, but if I had any chance of holding on, I needed to reinvent my whole style.

So we pulled out my ipod and made Jake go get his speakers. Finally we had a song that was perfect.

"Now about those moves…" Kaity said.

I just looked at her, a look of understanding dawning on my face. Look out here I come!

"I think that might work," I said a while later as we were stopping for some food.

"Yeah it will be perfect to premier at the Karolyi Ranch, knock the socks off everyone."

I paused, my forkful of salad halfway to my mouth. "What?!" I practically choked.

"The selection camp we are going to in a few weeks. You must have gotten the letter cause I mean if they actually sent one to me they must of sent one to you."

"We're going?" I asked, mentally beating myself up because I hadn't thought of the fact that Kaity would know about it. I still hadn't made a decision on it.

"Yup! This is the perfect opportunity to get back into it," she explained cheerfully. "Besides it will be a challenge" she and Jake chorused.

Oh boy, I thought. Ready or not I was going, and I had a feeling that it was going to be the latter.

R and R!


	26. On my way

Thanks to all my reviewers. This chapter is super long to say thanks. And I am adding a special treat this chapter. I have placed at least three points of foreshadowing, one is really obvious, the others more obscure. For anyone who guesses one out of the three will get to ask a question. And to those who guess two out of three will get a sneak peek and whoever gets all three will get a major surprise plus the sneak peek.

So R and R and get your guesses ready. And as before if I get 35 reviews I post a sneak peek to the following chapter.

Meg

"Bella, will you stop practicing now. You are going to wear yourself out."

"I just want to make everything perfect before we get there," I responded.

"It's perfect, it's perfect already. Come on we need to get you some more leotards before we leave tomorrow. You promised. Besides you don't want to strain yourself before we get there and you've already wasted half the day."

I sighed, giving in. But feeling a little cheeky, I swung around until I was standing on the high bar. I paused long enough to catch my balance, before dropping to the lower bar in a handstand position. From there I swung off.

I saluted ignoring Kaity's exasperated look, and Jake's laughter. I bit my lip trying not to smile as I slowly walked over to my stuff in an exaggerated manner.

I threw on my sweatshirt, and allowed Kaity to usher me out, waving to Jake and giving him a martyred expression. I was changed, but I still wasn't changed enough to like any kind of shopping besides book shopping.

It was odd enough to be going to a store to buy a leotard. Normally I would order them through GK or Speedo, but Kaity had found a little shop that sold as she put it 'leotards with attitude.'

I generally would have weaseled my way out of it, but I did kind of need new leotards.

"You know," Kaity said as she climbed into the passenger seat of my car. "If you modify that trick you just did, you could put a Korbut into your routine."

"That's illegal," I stated.

"Not with the new code of points," she pointed out to me.

"Still it could be score suicide, and besides, I haven't even trained that, I was just messing around"

I spent the rest of the ride to Port Angeles in thought, while she chattered on about random stuff. Score suicide was right when you competed a skill like the Korbut flip (where the gymnast stands on the high bar and does a back flip off of it and catches the bar again. Sometimes connected with twists or other flips, no longer in the code of points as standing on the high bar has been banned, but for this story I changed it a little.) But Kaity was right. There was no forbidding the Korbut flip in the new code of points, however it wasn't listed with a skill level, so it most likely wouldn't count for anything if competed. But maybe…..

"You missed the turn off," Kaity commented dryly, effectively cutting off my train of thought.

"Oh shit!" I turned my truck around quickly in a u-turn, barely missing the car parked on the side of the street. I did find the place though.

On the outside, the store looked like nothing special, but inside of Leo's Leos, it was like an explosion of color and sequins. Each wall was painted a different eclectic color, was adorned by artistically arranged and colored leotards. The wall behind the counter was covered with autographed pictures of random famous gymnasts.

It was a bit of a culture shock, shopping in a place that looked like the Cirque de Solei, but it wasn't long before both Kaity and I had a pile of workout leotards to try on.

Once in the curtained dressing rooms, I grabbed a pale blue sleeveless leotard that seemed conservative until you saw it in the light. Shocks of silver embroidery burst into view, in a dazzling effect. I pulled it on, and stopped short. The size that I had been wearing for the last three years was too big on me.

"Come on, show me how it looks," Kaity called from her side of the curtain.

I peeked my head out, keeping the curtain covering my body. "Um, I grabbed the wrong size…"

The overeager shop keeper, who was overjoyed to have Kaity and me in her shop, especially when we signed pictures for her, ran over to help. "What size do you need?" she questioned.

I told her the next size down, and when she returned, I found even that size to be too big. Finally two sizes down fit me. I knew it wasn't good how low my weight had dropped, and until now I hadn't really noticed it.

It was odd, normally when gymnasts retired, they plumped up, but I had just gotten smaller and smaller; especially when I started training again. It wasn't like I was starving myself on purpose or anything; it was just that I was never hungry anymore. I forced myself to eat little bits, but that was all I could manage. My current size was almost scary though.

As I stepped out of the dressing room, under Kaity's insistence that I model the designed sports bra, it really hit home.

"Bella what the hell?! Do you even eat?!" Kaity berated me.

I lied shamelessly, "Of course I eat, but you know how being a gymnast is."

"Yeah, I do, and you are way too skinny girl."

"It's your fault all that training we have been doing," I managed feebly. It seemed to appease her, well that and eating a Quarter pounder and small fry (diet be damned) at McDonalds.

Of course as soon as I got home, I threw it up. My stomach just wasn't used to eating that much food. After I emptied my stomach and splashed cold water on my face, I went and made Charlie for dinner.

I picked at my own, but put on a cheerful façade for him while he enjoyed the grilled chicken with rice and vegetables, I had made him.

"You know Bells," he said, patting his stomach in contentment. "I am going to miss your cooking while you are gone. I'm glad you going though. I was worried about you, you've been so dead. It's almost like you are alive again." As he said this, his cheeks colored and he looked at his lap.

I almost burst into tears right then and there. I realized I hadn't fooled him at all, not for one second. It made me a little frustrated, because in the beginning, he was one of the only reasons I could drag myself out of bed in the morning. And it turns out he knew I was training the whole time. Apparently Jake had called him to give him a heads up. I couldn't bring myself to be angry with Jake because of the relief I now saw on Charlie's face. And I knew right then that I would make it. I would go to that camp and work like I had never worked before, because it wasn't just for me anymore. And he really was overjoyed that I was going. I could tell because he had come to see me practice one day, something he hadn't done since I was little. It had been too hard for him, a reminder of my mother and nerve wracking watching me train tricks that could paralyze me at the very least. But he had come, and it had been a bonding experience for the both of us.

I got up and wrapped my arms awkwardly around him.

"I know dad, I know," I said. "I'm sorry but I am getting better now, it's all going to be okay. I'm going to miss you too. I love you daddy." I kissed his forehead and headed towards the stairs.

Before I reached them though, I glanced back and saw him wipe a tear from his cheek. "I love you too monkey," he whispered, calling me by my childhood nickname. "More than you know, and if he ever comes near you again…" he continued, but so quietly I knew I wasn't meant to hear

That night while getting ready for bed, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. All of my insecurities threatened to crash over me, but I pushed them back, promising myself that I would take better care of myself.

I fell asleep picturing my routines in my head as I had done a million times before, only this time I fell on every one.

BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEB

I nervously jiggled my leg. Then I switched to biting my lip. Finally I convulsively pulled my hair into a ponytail before releasing almost instantly.

Our plane was delayed, and the wait was grating on my nerves. I began tapping my fingers on the armrest of the chair I was sitting in.

"Ok, that is it," Kaity said. "You need to relax, or at least walk off all your nervous energy, you are driving me crazy! Come on."

She grabbed my arm and pulled me up. We both grabbed our carry on bags, and slung them over our shoulders.

We ended up in a small airport store. While Kaity glanced over the snacks, I headed towards the magazines, hoping for something to distract me.

I had just grabbed the latest of Sports Illustrated, which besides having the names and stats of the teams up for the National League East division, and the American League division, one being my home town Phillies and my current home team the Mariners, also held an interesting article about the upcoming World swimming championships to be held in a town in Italy that I had never heard before. Yup I was a cruising for a bruising. Before I could inflict anymore mental pain on myself, the all too familiar sound of clicking cameras broke my concentration.

I glanced up to see a reporter with a camera clicking away. Before I could respond, Kaity grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the gift shop.

It was no use though, the reporter just followed, and more joined her.

We managed to keep them from getting too close until we were waiting in line to board the plane that is when the questions started.

"Ms. Swan…. Ms. Swan. Are you going to the training camp at the Karolyi ranch? Does this mean you are going back into training?

"Kaity R? Are you going to compete in an organized competition? Do you realize this is your first since 2011?"

"No comment," I said quietly, while Kaity went to get the stewardess who quickly ushered us onto the plane, but not before the reporters got a few more pictures.

After we got settled into our seats and the plane finally took off, Kaity plugged her iPod in her ears and conked out pretty quickly.

Sleep was a lost cause for me, so I stared out the window lost in thought.

The pilot's announcement that we were preparing to land in Texas, broke me out of my daze. I tried to push off every negative thought that was nagging me.

Here it goes, I thought. Ready or not, all or nothing, it was on. And I wasn't going to back down without a fight.


	27. The Karolyi Ranch

Ok. First off thank you to my reviewers. And second of all it looks like a lot of you are Alice. You will get your surprise, but I am still waiting for some of the people who got the right answers to get back to me before I can post it. So since I am still waiting I am opening up another challenge. There is a number in the story and don't worry you will be able to find it because I put an a.n. next to it. If anyone can tell me what this number is and it is a date they will get written into the story. And if I get thirty reviews the first ten get a surprise and I post a sneak peek. So R and R. By the way random fact that you don't care about but I am 18 as of last Friday.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns twilight, Marta and Bela own the Karolyi Ranch, and Stick It owns the navy seals joke- or something similar to it.

The Karolyi Ranch 2,000 acres of wilderness in New Waverly Texas. It was also the place that housed the U.S. National team training center. If you were a gymnast and you wanted to be someone, you had to go to the Ranch, as it is known in the gymnastics community. If you got an invitation to the Ranch, you went, no questions asked, no consideration needed. It used to be every four to six weeks, the national team would get together to practice as a team for four or five days. But that had stopped a few years back due to personal reasons. Now there was a reinstation of the old practice. In the interim however, from 2008 until now, there had been workshops held all over the country, but none with such powerful results as the Ranch had inspired.

As a Junior, I had been invited there a few times, but then the camps ended. Now it was back to the place that was known everywhere in the gymnastics world. Even though I had been here before, as the bus drove through the woods to reach the center of the camp, which was also where Gym A was located, I was just as amazed as the first time.

Camels, deer, peacocks, horses, donkeys, 25 dogs, and elite gymnasts roam the tree lined paths. There are two lakes, multiple cabins to house the gymnasts, trees every which way, a 30,000 square feet gym space, a dance studio, the Karolyi home, and a newer building that is like a post hotel- a posh hotel set in the middle of nowhere in a clearing that is.

With the lush forest surrounding the Ranch, and no outside distractions, the Ranch seems to be a peaceful place. But I know better. From the moment you step off that bus, you have to impress, impress, impress. It is one of the hardest types of training that can be stimulated. From the moment you step in the gym you are displaying your hardest tricks all the while keeping one eye on Marta to make sure you are on the ball, and the other eye glancing around at the other gymnasts, gauging their skills. Not to mention that every move you make could be whether you make it or break it in the gymnastics world. Oh yeah and did I mention the fact that the training there made what the Navy Seals do look like a picnic in the park. Seriously there was high altitude cross country running regardless whether it was 50 below zero, or 105 degrees which was likely in Texan summers. Then there was every type of cardio, flexibility, endurance, conditioning- basically any type of exercise that you can think of. When you were at the Ranch, your rips got rips, your blisters got blisters, and your muscles got muscles. You either walked out of the camp a better gymnast, or you didn't walk out at all. And some gymnasts walk out of there, but with injuries, so I guess sometimes even the better gymnasts don't actually _walk_ out.

As I stepped off the bus, I froze. I couldn't do this…. It was too hard, too soon…. I…

"Bella!" I was shocked out of my mini panic attack by a thickly accented Russian voice. Bela Karolyi was coming up with a jovial smile on his face. I had barely managed a return smile before I was enveloped in a bear hug. As he released me he consulted a clipboard and handed me a sheaf of papers.

"Good you are here. Your room is 118 (anyone figure out what this number means?), check in at gym in half hour."

With that he was gone. I looked down at my papers in disbelief. Awesome! I was in the hotel. See the neophytes usually get shoved in the farthest cabins, a good fifteen minute walk to the gym. That is where I had stayed the first few times, and I didn't get much farther than that. Now I was rooming in the fairly new posh hotel-like building. That was where the good t.v. room was. And cable internet too. It was the place that the top gymnasts boarded.

I didn't have much time to explore the room I was sharing with Kaity, as we had to change and be in the gym soon.

"Are you ready yet?" I whined fidgeting by the door as Kaity slowly repacked her gym bag.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Jeez we have a ton of time."

"I wanted to be here so much earlier to warm up, but the plane was late and now we are barely going to be on time as it is. That is not good," I told her as I pulled her out the door.

We walked into the gym where most of the girls were already gathered waiting for Marta and the rest of the coaches.

Instantly the chattering stopped. Glares were shot at us from every angle. I looked for their source. Ah Tanya.

"Wow, I know why they are glaring at me, but why are they glaring at you?" Kaity asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," I told her. "Oh I don't think I can do this."

She grabbed my arm as I started to turn. "Oh no you don't. You can do this, you are going to do this, and while they are staring at us, we should give them something to look at."

With that she dropped her bag at my feet, jump started a run, and went straight into a double twisting double.

Damn! That is a tough move, and for a second I thought she was going to land it even without warming up, but at the last second she landed on her butt, right in front of Tanya. "Hi guys!" she said waving around.

Tanya opened her mouth to say something, and I hurried over expecting a fight.

"Ladies!"

Marta's voice sent the thirty or so girls scurrying. Within seconds we were all lined up in height order from smallest to tallest. Naturally I was near the end.

"You were invited here not just for training and conditioning, but for selection," Marta said in her thick accent.

"This is different from most selection camps because there is no competition leading to the camp. That does not mean it will be easier on you. In fact it will be that much harder because we only want best girls who are ready for this meet. It is a new invitational that is generating good press for gymnasts. So we want to prove America still on top. Because of that we have upped the standards. In order to qualify, you not only have to impress Bela, your coaches, the committee and me, but you also have to have the following: no underweight gymnasts will be allowed to compete. The FIG has mandated strict new guidelines…."

I didn't hear the rest of the requirements because it didn't matter. I wasn't getting chosen anyway. I knew it the second she said underweight. What Marta said was law and it didn't matter about circumstances.

No you know what? I wasn't too underweight; I could probably get my weight up in the next two weeks. I only needed a few more pounds on. And then I could also prove that I was invaluable during the workouts. They wouldn't be able to leave me behind because I wouldn't let them.

"Alright ladies, let's get down to business!"

The first form of business was a twelve mile run through the woods. Kaity and I took the lead early. This was old hat for the two of us.

Thanks Jake, I thought. Maybe I could actually pull this off.


	28. Walk of Shame or Walk of Fame

Here is a long chapter for you guys! Heads up the action is coming soon. If I get at least 40 reviews for this chapter I will combine my ideas for the next two chapters into one super long chapter- I'm talking minimum 3000 words, so r and r. Two readers got the date right so I will now reveal what it is. Rm. 118 stood for January 18 which is from both Twilight and New Moon where Bella met Edward. Congrats to those readers and you will be seeing them soon. Oh by the way GO PHILLIES!

Meg

Ok I was a complete idiot! A complete idiot who was in way over her head. Yeah I was in shape, but this was insane. I was holding my own in the conditioning, and I had always been flexible even for a gymnast, so I was doing ok in the flexibility exercises, but there was a problem with all of my focus on getting back into shape; I hadn't worked on form as much as I needed to, and it was beginning to show. Going it without a coach probably didn't help either. And there were certain things that I just didn't have. I would probably have been fine if I had had more time and could work through everything more, but I didn't have that option.

"Isabella! NO wobble! Again!"

I took a few steps to the middle of the beam, flattening my hips, I leapt forward into a front flip, then without stopping, I flipped backwards twice in a flowing continuous movement. One back handspring into a back handspring layout. Still in motion, I leapt up into a split toe touch. I landed in one smooth motion, my left big toe twitching slightly to keep my balance.

"Isabella you still wobble! Again!"

I stared at her incredulously. What wobble? My toe? That wasn't a wobble that could barely even be called a twitch.

"Now!"

"Alright, alright," I muttered under my breath, too quiet for her to hear.

Again I completed the difficult combination. This time all of the toes on my left foot had to strain to keep my balance.

"You wobble! I told you no wobble! The judges will take off points!" Marta called out. "Do it again!"

I did as I was told. Or I tried anyway. It was on the first of my back handsprings that I slid from the beam. In a catlike movement, I twisted so I landed on my feet instead of my side.

I started to remount the beam and then stopped. I wasn't injured or anything, I had jammed my toe on my landing, but that was nothing. I just was feeling trapped. It was like nothing I did was good enough, and I just kept getting worse.

"Try again Isabella!" Marta called.

"No," I answered quietly.

"I said try again," she came closer to me.

"I can't!"

"What do you mean you can't? Either try again or run laps until you are ready to try again!"

"I think I will take the laps," I told her matter of factly, grabbing my hoodie and my sneakers from where they lay next to my bag, and storming to the doors.

I threw on my socks and shoes, and pulled my hoodie quickly over my head, before jogging towards the trail head. I wished I had brought my iPod, but a few seconds later decided it didn't matter anyway. I was pounding my way through the woods; my feet beating an angry beat. I was pushing myself a little hard from anger though. After a few minutes my temper calmed a little and so did my pace, until it was a reasonable tempo.

Despite the oversized hoodie that I had 'borrowed' from Jake, I was beginning to feel the cold. The cool late winter/early spring air was wreaking havoc on the parts of my legs exposed by my shorts. Still I didn't let that deter me, I kept running until I felt no trace of anger, and was just running for the joy of running.

Eventually I had to take a break though. I boosted myself up on a humongous fallen log, and walked along it, as though it was a beam. I knew I needed to get back, and I knew exactly what would happen when I did. I would get back up on that beam, and do that trick as many times as Marta told me to. That was what I was supposed to and with the committee coming tomorrow and the next day to pick the team; this was not the time to rebel.

With a sigh, I hopped of my makeshift balance beam. The running path I had taken was circuitous, so I wasn't too far from the gym. I made fast time of the mile or so back.

I made my way quietly back inside where I knew the three hour nightly session was almost finished. I had left more than halfway through, so there was probably only about a half hour left.

"Ah Bella," Marta called. "To the beam."

I knew this would happen, and I knew that I was wrong, so I meekly made my way over to the balance beam she had indicated as everyone else stopped their training and gathered around to see what would become of me.

"Full routine, no wobbles," she quietly instructed me.

With that I felt a spark of anger. Only unlike before, it was not a bad spark, it was a motivator.

I mounted the beam using the Swan mount that I had created. The rest of my routine was different from the one I had competed in London, but there was a few of the same components and it was almost as difficult.

I went through each move, my intensity growing. When it came to the combination that had given my trouble, I didn't even hesitate, but knocked it out perfectly. I felt all of my frustration from the last few days pouring out of my and pushing me further. It wasn't the best routine that I had ever done, but it was the best one that I had completed since… well since the Olympics.

After my stuck dismount, I raised my arms in a flourishing salute. I smiled right at Tanya whose smug smile had wiped off her face as her jaw dropped.

"Beautiful!" Marta proclaimed. "There is the spark I wanted. Before little errors, no spark. Now spark outweigh wobbles!"

With those words, she dismissed us. Most of the girls instantly filed out to dinner or back to their rooms, but I stayed where I was staring at the beam.

"Bells you coming?" Kaity called to me from the doors.

"Nah, I'll catch up to you," I told her not looking away from the beam.

I mounted the beam again and just stood there trying to recapture the spark that I had felt just a few minutes before.

Soon I was the only one left in the gym. I stood there for an indeterminable amount of time. My body started to tire, but still I stayed. I tried to just let go of everything else and focus, but I still couldn't forget. No matter how hard I tried.

"Bella?" a soft voice asked.

I glanced around to see Bela Karolyi standing a few feet away. I noticed then that tears had been silently slipping down my cheeks without my permission or knowledge.

I looked straight at him too tired to be ashamed that he had seen me cry. It was funny I never used to cry; now crying seemed to be the only thing I was good at.

He took one look at me and silently beckoned for me to follow him. I slid off the beam and put on the shoes and jacket that he handed me.

He led me outside. We walked for awhile and I was wondering where we were heading when he stopped. I looked at the wall in front of us. It was the Gymnastics Walk of Fame wall. I knew my name was on there a few times, but he had led me straight to the one with the most meaning; my Olympic brick.

I read the inscription on it: Isabella Swan

2012 Olympics

Team gold

Gold AA, Gold BB, Gold FX, Bronze UB

"This says you are a champion, now it is up to you. You proved to the world once that you were the best, but can you do it again. There is nothing holding you back but yourself," Bela told me. He gestured to a gaggle of little girls in leotards clutching autographs in their hands.

"You see those girls? Every one of those girls dreams to be you. Not just because of the gold medals around your neck, but because you are the best. You are enviable because of your dedication, your successes, and most important because of your spirit. You live and breathe gymnastics, it isn't just a job or a sport for you, it is who you are and that is what everyone sees when you perform. Or at least it was until recently. That was why Marta has been pushing you. You didn't have a wobble, but you didn't have anything else either and that is worse."

I barely spared a moment of indignation for Marta's unnecessary torture, before his words sunk in. He was right, the only thing holding myself back was me, the only thing clinging desperately to what could have been was me.

Bela led me back to the gym and to the center of the floor area. "Handstand."

But there was something bothering me. "Bela…"

"No, no talk. Just do."

I did a handstand and held it.

"It's all about the basics. Mental and physical," he told me. "First handstand, now walkover."

I did a walkover.

"Handstand, and limber.

"Bela…"

But he just gave me a look. I did the handstand, but then instead of lowering one leg then the other to the floor, I lowered both at the same time in a limber.

"Now cartwheel."

I didn't even try to argue this time. I did exactly what he said. Then he moved me onto round offs, a cartwheel where both of my legs joined in the air and landed together.

We went on this way for some time; one basic move would lead into a slightly more complicated form. Finally he deemed me perfect.

"Beautiful, just beautiful. See those clean lines, the perfect form?" he had me look in the mirror at my perfectly extended split. "The basics. Remember the basics and you will be on that team for sure."

This time I didn't let him quiet my concerns. "Bela. I can't. I can't be on the team."

"And why not? Do you know something I do not know my little swan?"

"It's the whole weight thing," I muttered looking down shamefully.

"Ah yes that. But you worked on it. And it is getting better no? I have watched, but I am not concerned there is always an exception. Just show the committee you are the champion that you were last summer, and all will be fine," he assured me in his botched English.

With that he left. I grabbed my bag and clothes deep in thought.

I was still deep in thought as I walked in the door to my room, a fruit salad snagged from the already closed kitchen in my hands.

Kaity R was lying on her bed reading a gossip magazine. She looked up as I walked in.

"You okay?" she asked. "I know today had to be tough."

"Yeah. I'm okay," I told her, and for the first time in a long time it wasn't really a lie.

She seemed to understand, and promptly changed the subject.

"I am so writing into 17 Magazine and complaining."

She held up the magazine so I could see the page she was looking at.

It was titled: Find Your Perfect Fit, and was about jeans.

They have all these body types, and I don't fit a single one. They have pear, tall, petite, hourglass, and a billion others, but not a single athletic one."

"Yeah well most people don't have muscles that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be jealous of," I told her.

We just looked at each other and burst into laughter. The rest of the night we spent as teenagers, not elite athletes, not international competitors, but average teenage girls; giggling over silly things, and talking about everything under the sun. a couple of the other gymnasts who hadn't been poisoned by Tanya joined us to swap stories. It was like a party, there was even an embarrassing video of a choreographed dance that I made a mental note to find and delete later.

It was great blowing off steam, but later as I laid in my bed listening to Kaity's steady breathing, my mind returned to my earlier thoughts. Bela had said to go back to my basics…. Suddenly something sparked. I started out with dance, and I learned my basics in the dance studio rather than the gym, but how could I apply that to my routines. Sure I had dance elements, but somehow I think Bela was trying to tell me something else… or maybe to use my dance elements more. But how would dance help my tumbling? I eventually fell asleep, but my subconscious was still puzzling it out, because when I woke up I had a plan in place.


	29. Get Up

Hey sorry for the long wait, I was doing nanowrimo, but I gave it up so I could write for you guys again. Anyway I just finished this now and am not reading over it so ignore any mistakes, plus it is like twice the size of a normal chapter. The new gymnasts in the chapter mentioned are the ones who won being written in so say hi! I have one more spot to write in so the new challenge is going to be who can guess where the invitational will be held- hint, it is NOT in the US, and it is REALLY obvious. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Even to those who don't celebrate, be very thankful for what you have because there are many people in the world who don't have anything. And be especially thankful for your family because one day they might not be there and you will miss them trust me. 

XOXO,Meg

If my life had been a movie, now would be when the inspirational music would start playing to accompany my struggle and finally my triumph.

Some song like Superchicks' Get Up, would play as a montage of my training and constant dedication played.

_I'm not afraid to fall  
It means I climbed up high  
to fall is not to fail  
you fail when you don't try_

I would be climbing what seemed to be an impossibly high rope my legs held in an 'L' position up and down as people with clipboards marked my progress.

_You fail when you don't try  
I'm not afraid to fall  
I might just learn to fly and  
I will spread these wings of mine_

The next scene would show me swinging on the uneven bars as I practiced a difficult release over and over, finally nailing it perfectly.

If I get up I might fall back down again  
So let's get up come on  
If I get up I might fall back down again  
We get up anyway  
If I get up I might fall back down again  
So let's get up come on  
If I get up I might fall back down again  
And I might fall back down again  
We'll just jump and see, even if it's the 20th time  
we'll just jump and see if we can fly

I would be seen attempting tricks on each of the apparatuses; falling, but getting back up until I didn't fall any more.

_I'm not afraid to fall  
and here I told you so  
don't want to rock the boat  
but I just had to know  
Just a greener side  
or can I touch the sky  
but either way I will have tried_

It would cut to a scene of me wobbling on beam, but catching my balance, and then leaping up impossibly high; joy written all over my face.

_I'm not afraid to fall  
I've fallen many times  
they laughed when I fell down  
But I have dared to climb  
I'm not afraid to fall  
I know I'll fall again  
But I will win this in the end_

There would be a flashback of all the hard times in my career as a gymnast, including one of Tanya and her cronies laugh as I face planted in front of everyone, then their look of shock as I was offered a spot on the team before them. I would triumphantly stand proud in front of them, accepting the selection gracefully.

Yup that's exactly what would happen if my life were a movie. Bu unfortunately I was living in the real world, and the real world was never what the movies made it seem to be.

Sure the next few days were a test of my skills, as the selection committee, headed by Marta, made their decision on who would make up the American team.

The first day wasn't too bad it was mostly conditioning exercises and showing the mastery of our hardest skills.

When we ended our session early that day I wasn't done. I had a plan in place and I had to put it into action quickly.

By the time the second day rolled around, I wasn't ready to use it yet, but I knew that if I could just force my way through my routines, everything would fall into place.

This day was a little harder than the previous because it was do or die time. Each gymnast competed with their hardest routines as though in an actual competition. The only difference is we never received our score so no one knew who was in the lead and who needed to work harder.

Finally I had done all that I could have, and it was up to the committee. I lined up with the other gymnasts, in height order as we did at the end of the last practice of each session.

Marta called forward the three gymnasts who scored the highest in the overall conditioning tests taken throughout the week. As she called the gymnasts' names out, each stepped forward to applause.

"Zoe Taylor." The girl standing next to me at 5'3" with dark hair and dark eyes stepped forward. She was almost 16, and was a new senior from the list of last year's up and coming juniors. She was a beautiful uneven bars worker with long lines, and graceful pirouetting skills.

"Jaymie Streleckis." *(last names have been changed.) A compact blond with blue eyes from San Diego Ca, stepped forward as well. She was an awesome beamer *(a.n. nickname for someone good on beam), and also newly 16, and therefore newly qualified to compete internationally.

Kaity R was the third highest scorer in the overall conditioning test, with me as a close runner up. We still didn't know who had scored overall in the competition though.

"Not too much to talk" about, Marta said in conclusion. "Let's have a good working time. All come back happy and ready to go with our very high goals."

As though we were a perfectly rehearsed chorus, we all spoke together, "Thank you, Marta, coaches, and national staff. Good-bye."

Following this sign of respect each of us stepped forward according to height. Marta cupped each gymnast's face between her hands, and leaned down to whisper in their ears. To some she whispered constructive criticism, others words of wisdom, to all, she offered encouragement. Finally it was my turn; I walked up to the woman who had taught me so much. She cupped my cheeks and whispered in my ear four words, "It's up to you."

Just four words, but they held all the meaning in the world and needed no clarification. I knew what she meant, that only I could decide how far I could take myself.

I turned in a balletic motion, and walked to the door, my head held high, and my posture straight as each gymnast before me had done. It was like a dance, and for some of us it would be our Swan's song until the next competition, for others it was just the opening act.

(a.n. I could end it here, but that would be mean, so I will keep going)

"Bella relax will you?" Kaity said. "All that pacing is making me nervous!"

"Sorry I can't help it," I replied. Plopping down beside her, I then began jiggling my leg nervously. Ten seconds later I was back to pacing inside the vestibule of the main gym. It was almost time for us to find out who had made the team, and the wait was killing me. I had gone for a run to work off my nervous energy earlier, but we all had to be back by six and it was now six thirty with still no word.

The queue of gymnasts lined up behind me was growing more restless by the second. Some showed their nerves by pacing nervously like me, but others like Tanya, took their anxiety out in a different manner. "Did you see that step she took on vault," she said loudly pointing to one of the younger gymnasts and making it clear to everyone what she was saying. "She'll never make the team with a landing like that. She didn't stick she sucked."

I had gotten fed up with her messing with the newer gymnasts, they didn't deserve her crap. Well no one deserved her crap, but at least the rest of us were used to it. I opened my mouth to say something, but Kaity beat me to the punch.

"Sucked? Are you sure that wasn't you you were thinking of, Tanya? And I do mean in more than one way," she sneered, referring to Tanya's reputation.

"No, but if you ask Edward he might say different," she shot back, but at me instead of Kaity. "Oh, wait. You can't cause he left you."

"Why you…." Kaity started, lunging forward to attack her for me.

But I grabbed her arm. "It's not worth it. She's not worth it." I spoke a little louder to make sure Tanya heard what I said next. "She's just worried she is too washed up to make the team, so she is settling by trying to make everyone else feel worse about themselves. Well guess what? It's not going to work on me, Tanya. I have faced far worse that you could ever dish out and I am still here, so say what you want. Everyone knows just what a pathetic attempt it is."

Before she could retaliate, the door opened and Marta came out. The change in the air became almost palpable. Instantly every gymnast straightened up, and the tension from the almost fight changed into nervous anticipation.

We paraded onto the floor in the traditional gymnastics walk. You know the one where we lift our pointed feet, and swing our flared arms. Yet again when we had lined up we were standing from smallest to tallest.

We faced the judges, and stood there waiting. I smiled, acknowledging the cheers from the other gymnasts gathered to see who would make up the team. It was mostly younger girls and those who hadn't yet qualified but trained with the Karolyi's regularly.

Marta stepped up to speak. I caught sight of Bela in a corner, and I smiled weakly in response of his reassuring smile. I didn't know if he was trying to tell me that I made it, or if he were trying to comfort me because I hadn't.

"And at this time I would like to announce the 2013 U.S. Invitational team. The following athletes have qualified for the team: Jaymie Streleckis, 2012 junior all- around world champion. Zoe Taylor, 2012 Junior National team member. Tanya Denali, 2012 Senior National team member. Kaity R, 2011 Senior National team member. Jackie Bellamy, 2012 Junior American Cup silver medalist. And last but not least, Isabella Swan, reigning Olympic All-Around gold medalist.

I stepped forward to join the rest of the team, but my mind was frozen in shock. I waved and smiled on autopilot. I hadn't realized until right then just how much I wanted… no needed to be a member of this team. It was more than just a competition for me, more than just a comeback, it was my survival. I had been preparing myself for not making the team just in case, and now that I made it I didn't know what to do.

I was spared a response by Marta's further announcements. She named the alternates in case of injury stating, "I hope we do not have to replace any of team, but as we all know, this sport is unpredictable, and replacement may be necessary."

She went on to address the five girls who didn't make neither the team nor the alternate team. "Each and every one of you worked hard to get here. Do not give up because you didn't make this team. There will always be another team, and you will always have a shot if you continue to work hard, and believe in yourself. Stay with us, for yourselves, your teammates, your sport and your country!"

With that closing remark, we were announced to the arena filled with campers, live on gymnasts, reporters, coachers, and FIG committee members.

Once we had walked around the floor area, been displayed to the crowd, and received flowers and our USA warm-up suit jackets, it was time to face the media.

Luckily Marta and Bela kept a tight rein on the reporters, and no questions about Ed… him were asked.

"Bella, how does it feel to be back in competition?"

"Um, I guess I will have to let you know when I get there," I answered.

"Have you prepared anything new, or should we look forward to seeing routines from London?"

"With the new quadrennium, I have had to rework my routines somewhat, and with not being in the shape I was last summer, I made some of my routines a little easier for the time being. On the other hand I have added some new difficulties where I could, so I think the overall combination should be nice."

"What are your goals for this competition? Can we expect to see another medal sweep?"

"Well right now, I kind of just want to get my feet wet so to speak. It will be a little hard getting back into the swing of competition, so I will be concentrating on getting myself where I want to be before concentrating on medals. My first priority right now is the team competition and I am just planning on going slow with everything. At this point I think it is better for me to get comfortable and secure rather than pushing myself too hard and losing more ground that way."

The interviews went on that way for a while, but finally I was able to escape to the sanctuary of my room. Opening up my computer, I logged onto my site for the first time in months.

After some hesitation, I posted this message to my fans;

Hi guys, Bella here. Preparing for competition once again. Sorry for not posting for awhile, but trying to get back into the swing of things. Don't forget to watch next week on Universal Sports!

Keep aiming for your dreams,

Bell

When I went to bed that night, I was truly happy for the first time in a long time. I knew that I was nowhere near healed, but I was better, and getting stronger every day. I still missed the things that I had lost, but I was becoming even more grateful for what I did have; my gymnastics. I knew that the two weeks would be tough, but I knew now that I could handle anything that came my way.


	30. Surprise Visitors

**I am sorry for the wait, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I won't bother to explain, but if anyone has a problem please pm me and I will explain. I apologize for any mistakes; I was waiting to hear from my beta, but gave up wanting to get this out tonight on Christmas, so I haven't even read it over myself. Ok so I added this last night, but fanfiction is retarded, told me it loaded successfully and then it didn't so here it is!**

**Finally if I get at least 25 reviews, I will write an Edward POV for the next chapter, and for every chapter from now on that hits 35 or higher, I will add either another chapter or an outtake chapter, so review!**

**To those who are asking about Alice, she is still on Dancing with the Stars which is why she didn't try out for the team. One because she has other commitments, and two because she hasn't been in training for awhile because she has been concentrating on DWTS. She will be back soon though; she will have her own part. **

I stretched my tight muscles as we disembarked the plane. International flights always made me stiff. We barely had time to adjust to the bright Italian sun before Marta was ushering us onto the minibus waiting for us.

The countryside that flashed by us on the length ride to the city where we were competing was so beautiful a sight that even the seasoned travelers like Tanya, Kaity, and I were awed.

We reached our destination about ten pm, which was when the late Italian sun was slowly beginning to set.

We walked into a building that looked like a medieval castle. Its interior contrasted drastically on the inside. We were ushered into a business like lobby where a pretty receptionist with a name tag that read Gianna welcomed us. "Welcome to Volterra!" she enthused.

By this point I was so tired that all I wanted was my bed. We were checked in quickly and I was relieved to finally get to the room that I was going to share with Kaity R. While throwing on pajamas, I admired the princess-like room. This room matched the outside better than the lobby had.

I decided to save investigation for the morning and fell into one of the four poster, canopied beds while Kaity was still getting ready for bed.

An hour later when Kaity's breathing had deepened to that of sleep, I was still awake. I quietly snuck into the bathroom to shower, hoping that the warm water would soothe me to sleep. Unfortunately it didn't work. Desperate, I snuck out onto our small balcony.

Closing my eyes, I focused just on my breathing. In, out. In, out. As I breathed, I began to move. I stretched and danced my way through a stretching routine that I had long since given up. These were the same dance stretches that I had used as a calming technique from the time I started competing until the London Olympics. That was the last time I had used them.

Now as I made my way through moves that felt as comfortable as breathing, I felt peace. Ten minutes later I was in bed sound asleep. For the first time since that day, I slept without a nightmare.

As my alarm blared the next morning I stretched before jumping out of bed. My head span, and I promptly fell back down onto my bed. I sat still for a moment, trying to center myself around the circus spinning through my head, and the slight queasiness of my stomach.

"You ok?" Kaity asked as she came out of the bathroom, fully dressed with her hair in a towel.

I collected myself and smile. "Yeah, just you know trying to get my bearings and all." To avoid anymore questioning, I made my way to the bathroom, grabbing my toiletry bag on the way. Once there I sat down on the floor and rested my head against the coolness of the tub.

A few minutes later, the dizziness was gone. I pushed it out of my mind. The nausea wasn't as easy to hold at bay, as it persisted through the entire day of workouts. I tried to eat some food, but everything just made it worse.

I still managed to get through workouts though, and boy was I glad for that.

Tanya finally got what she deserved, and I was there to witness it.

I had been working on my beam routine, when she started her snide comments.

"I don't even know why you bother Bella, it must be so tough going out there knowing that you are only going to embarrass yourself."

Kaity, who was on the other side of the beam warming up, pointed at her hand and then at Tanya. Taking her advice, I posed my arms artistically while sticking up my middle finger. It was uncharacteristic of me, but it was worth the look on Tanya's face.

"Isabella! Did you just give the finger?" Marta called out to me. I started, almost falling off the beam, but thankfully Kaity covered for me.

"No Marta, she was just playing around with different poses," she lied creatively.

I just nodded and smiled.

"Oh well, no use that one, it might make someone think you are giving them the finger," Marta scolded with a wink. She knew exactly what had happened, and she let it slide. Bella: one, Tanya: zero.

"Let's see your dismount now, Isabella. Tanya, you up next," she continued.

I took a deep breath, and centered myself on the beam. Two powerful steps, and a round off later, I had powered through my dismount to land with a small step.

I stepped to the side, and began stretching some of my muscles as Tanya chalked up to take to the beam.

"She's not doing what I think she is, is she?" Kaity asked in a very convoluted sentence.

I looked up to see Tanya posing beside the beam in the set up to _my _mount. And sure enough that was what she did, or at least what she tried to do.

I watched as if in slow motion, as she flipped her body up over the beam halfway, before coming crashing right back down.

I cringed as I saw her hit her knee on both the beam and the floor. The resounding thud echoed loudly across the gym.

Being so close, I was the first to meet her. I hovered over her in concern. I mean don't get me wrong; as much as dislike the girl, I was still worried about her. I prayed that it was nothing serious, especially with her knee, since knee injuries where usually death to gymnasts. I knew that she had worked so hard to get here and as much as I disliked her, I wouldn't have wished this on her in a million years.

She was quickly moved out of the gym on a stretcher, and practice continued.

An hour or so later, we were dismissed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath trying to cut deal with another bout of the dizziness that had been creeping up on me all day.

"You know you are never going to win a gold medal taking a nap like that," a familiar deep voice sounded right next to my ear.

"Gah!" I jumped in surprise. I span around, and saw Jake leaning against the wall a few feet away from me. "Jake what are you doing here?! How did you get past security? I'm confused," I rambled myself into silence.

"Well Kaity managed to get me in as your unofficial coach. I mean I can't actually be on the floor during the meets or anything, but I can be here during practices, and pod training or whatever it's called."

"You mean podium training," I corrected, before flinging myself into his arms.

He span me around in a huge that left me breathless. "Jake, can't breathe!" I squeaked out, feeling a keen sense of déjà vu. This feeling was strengthened when photographers started taking pictures.

Laughing and holding hands, we ran into the tunnel that led to the locker rooms for the gymnasts. It was funny how completely different I felt about getting a picture of Jake and I from just last year.

We met up with Kaity and after a shower for all of us (Kaity and I from working out, and Jake from traveling), we hung out until Kaity and I had to get ready for the parade.

Yes, I said parade. The people who were running this competition wanted to showcase all of the athletes they had brought to their small, but memorable town.

I resented the break from training, and still feeling sick, I also resented the chance to get a little rest before the competition. I also wasn't quite sure if I was ready for the craziness of the crowds and the media, but I knew I didn't have a choice. So it was begrudgingly that I changed into my USA warm up suit.

I had to laugh when I looked for the bright blue soccer socks that I had bought to accessorize my mandatory USA team clothes, and only found one.

I looked over to see Kaity wearing one red that she had bought, and one of my blue. Shrugging it off with a laugh, I grabbed her other red, and did the same. Then we both tucked our navy blue yoga pants into the socks like baseball players do.

Finally she decorated her hair with red and blue bows (lol Em you know what I am talking about), and I put red, white, and blue ribbons in my curly ponytail.

We made our way downstairs to the lobby where we met the rest of the gymnasts and coaches. We were arranged by event coordinators, and even joined by elite swimmers. There was apparently a huge swimming competition too, but I tried to block out why that was significant.

Finally the parade began moving, and I allowed myself to get caught up in all of the excitement. It wasn't hard with Kaity and Jake by my side. I had to laugh at Jake because he had used his status as an Olympic silver medalist, to get into the parade with the swimmers, and then snuck up to join us.

His tall frame was almost comical against all of the short gymnasts, male and female alike.

The crowd was decked out in red capes which I found a little strange, until someone explained it to me. Apparently every year the city of Volterra celebrates the feast of Saint Marcus, but this year it had been rescheduled due to inclement weather.

So they had waited for this parade to combine the two, and ironically enough, it fell on the Feast day of Saint Mark, April 25, who was rumored to have been a protégé of Saint Marcus.

Apparently this was a huge deal in this part of Italy and combined with the two elite invitationals, people from all over Italy, Europe, and even some from the States, had flooded the small town.

I was smiling and waving to the crowd when I felt it.

A strange chill that had me looking around for its cause. Just as we passed the clock tower in the center of the town square, I caught sight of bronze hair, highlighted by the sun.

It couldn't be, could it?

Before I could even process anything, I received another shock in the form of a diminutive, spiky-haired person waving at me.

**MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY KWANZA, HAPPY CHANUKA, AND WHATEVER ELSE YOU CELEBRATE! I hope all of your holiday dreams came true! Don't forget to review! This is my holiday present to you!**


	31. Such an IdiotPodium Training

WOW 61 reviews! You guys are AWESOME! Let's try to keep it up. I am working on updating faster, I would have had this up a couple days ago but my beta and I are running on different schedules and it is getting a little confusing. Anyway as promised here is an Edward POV. If you guys can match the review count I will have another review up by the end of this week. Remember every review count above 35 gets an outtake added on at the end of the story.

Thanks to my beta Nancy!

R and R!

I crumbled up the newspaper. I had so many emotions cursing through me right now: anger, sadness, longing, and strangely relief. I had hoped she would move on; it was my intention that she would when I left her. It was better for her, safer for her; but then why did I feel like I wanted to rip the head off of someone? My reaction was completely uncalled for, but I didn't tell myself that. I reached down and plucked the newspaper back off the floor. Smoothing it back out, I avoided looking at the picture and instead read the article accompanying it. I was a glutton for a punishment, but I couldn't deny myself this one sliver of Bella.

The article opened explaining how Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist, Isabella Swan, was heading back into competition for the first time since the Olympics. It then offered a myriad of reasons as to why she hadn't been seen on the competition circuit or out at events. They started out reasonable: maybe she was taking a well deserved rest after the Olympics, and got progressively more ludicrous as the list went on, until I finally skipped down to the next paragraph of the article.

This was by far the toughest part for me to read, but I persevered in a masochistic way.

Isabella Swan has been seen hanging out with fellow Olympian Jacob Black. The two seem to be in love, holding each other's hands and spending all of their time together. A friend of Bella's from school, Jessica Stanley, had this to say: "Isabella rarely hangs out with anyone except Jake. They are definitely a couple."

This serves to prove rumors that Swan, 17, and Edward Cullen, also an Olympic swimmer and Black's biggest competition, 17, have broken up are indeed true. 

There has even been speculation that this is why they broke up and why Swan no longer trains at Cullen's father's gym. Agents of all three athletes have declined comment, though the evidence speaks for itself.

I was livid; they were blaming the whole thing on Bella when none of it was her fault. But Alice was wrong. Bella was fine, and she would be fine. She was competing again, and she was moving on. It was just as I had planned for her, but I hadn't known I would feel this way.

Okay, maybe I did, but I had thought it was best for her. I glared angrily at the photo of that _dog_ Jacob Black holding her in his arms. He didn't deserve to touch her, but I guess he always tried to have everything I had. First it was my records, and now it was my girl. No wait, she wasn't my girl anymore, and I had to deal with that. I knew deep down I didn't deserve her either, but that didn't mean I wanted someone else to have her as selfish as that sounds.

To be honest, he was probably better for her than I was anyway. I went to throw the newspaper away, but thought better of it. I carefully tore Bella's side of the picture out and tucked it gingerly in the inside pocket of my warm up suit.

"Edward, come on man, we have to go to the parade. We can't let the gymnasts get all the glory," a teammate of mine called to me. I followed the rest of my team, but managed to slip away before having to be put on display in a completely pointless parade. It was a complete waste of training time, and I could have used it to try to sleep. I hadn't slept well in months, and I knew it was affecting my swimming and my attitude. I had been snapping at everyone around me, and I knew none of them deserved it. Hell I was the only one who deserved my self-loathing.

I tucked myself in the relative seclusion of a clock tower and watched disinterestedly as my fellow athletes paraded past me.

Then I caught sight of one of the most angelic faces I have ever seen in my life. It was Bella. Ok now I feel really stupid. I had heard there was a gymnastics competition here, and I had just read that she was back into competition. Also how coincidental would it be if there was another competition somewhere else where she was competing? I smacked myself on the forehead. I was an idiot, but I guess my brain had refused to put the pieces together in a self-coping mechanism.

I almost ran out to wrap her in my arms but managed to stop myself just in time. No matter what circumstances brought both of us here at the same time, they didn't change anything. I couldn't risk hurting her again or letting any harm come to her because of me, so despite the soul-killing pain it inflicted on me, I vowed that I would have no contact at all with Isabella Marie Swan.

I just turned around, planning to go back to my room and spend the rest of the day being an unsociable hermit when a familiar voice stopped me.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, what the hell do you think you are doing?"

Oh great, so much for going undetected.

Bella Pov:

I woke up the morning after the parade the same way I had woken up the day before- i.e. dizzy and queasy. I had hoped it would have gone away by now but no such luck. Despite that fact, I dragged my butt out of my comfortable bed and into my team USA leotard for Podium Training. The leotard was red and had a blue star in the center of the chest that was framed by smaller white ones. Of course it also had the USA in the circle of small rhinestone stars on the upper right arm, like all our international leotards had. It was pretty and it served to hide the fact that I was slightly paler than even my normal ungodly paleness. With a few final adjustments and a perfectly smoothed back ponytail, I exited my room and dashed to podium training to avoid being late.

Podium Training is a way for the gymnasts to get use to the equipment set up on a 'podium' so the whole arena can see it. Also the podium causes the equipment to feel slightly different then if you were competing on it on the floor, and each set of equipment had its own feel. It was comforting and a safety precaution for the gymnasts.

I made it through vault, bars, and floor without any major missteps, I and was looking forward to getting beam done with so I could rest before the team final competition tonight. This whole set up was a little strange. Instead of a normal team and individual qualification competition, it had been changed that only the top twelve qualifying teams from London had been invited. The gymnasts who were to go on to the all around and the apparatus finals would be decided by the scores in the team competitions. It was a four up four count competition, meaning that four members of each team competed on each apparatus and each score counted so there could be no mistakes.

Luckily I was first on the beam to work on my full routine after everyone had warmed up a little.

I chalked up and prepared to mount the beam. I wasn't using the 'Swan' mount for the team finals. It had been decided that I would use a less difficult mount for the team finals, and it was up to me which mount I used in the all around- that is if I even qualified for it, which I was assured by Bela that I would. My routine had a high enough start value without the mount so it wouldn't hurt the team if I didn't compete with the skill. It was a safe decision considering this was my first time back out on the competition floor and I was a little shaky as it was. If I fell or messed up the mount in any way it could be more detrimental than the risk that it might pay off.

I stood at the end of the beam and stacked my hands on it. In other words, I placed them side by side with the fingers that didn't fit gripping either side of the beam.

I pushed off the ground and into a split. I slid my right leg underneath my body so I was in a split extending across part of the beam. Pulling my front leg up until I was kneeling on my back leg, I rolled into an easy summersault on the beam. I rolled to my feet from the summersault.

That's when it hit me. It was harder and more concentrated than before; it got to the point where I was seeing double. It was so bad I almost didn't notice the nausea. Almost.

It took everything I had just to stay on the beam, even stationary as I was.

"Isabella, are you ok?" Marta questioned. I snapped myself out of it, and pushed the dizziness aside.

I nodded, most of my concentration was focused on just staying upright, and I didn't waste the little left to tell her I was ok verbally.

I felt some adrenaline kick in, and I convinced myself I was ok to continue. I battled my way through the rest of my routine, though in true gymnastics fashion, I let no external sign betray the internal battle I was waging.

I was almost at the end of my routine, I noted with relief, as I prepared my acro series.

I launched myself into my first back handspring, and felt the beam go out from under my feet. I was floating in slow motion towards the mats below without any control over my body.

I don't remember hitting the floor.


	32. Captain

Thanks to all of my reviewers, and especially the anonymous ones to whom I can't respond. I apologize for the wait, but life and a research paper got in the way of writing. I want to explain something that seemed to confuse some people, similar to how I started out Dreams of Gold, some of the POV's will be of different times. So Edward is still with the day of the parade. Bella is a day ahead of him, but they should catch each other by the next chapter. Hope that clears some questions up.

I 3 my beta!

R and R.

Meg

Edward Pov:

"Edward Anthony Cullen, what the hell do you think you are doing?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Hi, Mom."

"Don't hi mom me, mister! You have got a lot of explaining to do. Let's start with not returning anyone's calls for months."

"I did text…" I tried to defend myself. My mom had that look on her face, and I was slightly scared. Even though I was much taller and more muscular than my mother, I had no doubt that she could do some major damage. She always used to tell me that she didn't care how big I got; she could still put me through a wall. I hope she was joking, but sometimes I wasn't so sure.

"Yes a few measly texts, with no response when I texted you back. But we'll get back to that. In the meantime what is this I hear about you breaking up with Isabella? Tell me your sister is playing a sick joke, because if that is what caused everything… well let's just say, I am not happy."

"Mom, you don't get it. I did what I had to do. She wasn't safe with me and it just… I don't even know why I am explaining it to you, but it just couldn't work so I ended it."

I peeked at her expression warily, only to be even more bemused when she burst into laughter.

"Edward Cullen you are even dumber than your father was at this age! But it's ok; I think we can still fix this. First you are going to go to her and grovel- I mean on your knees, begging- groveling. If she deigns to talk to you and I wouldn't blame her if she didn't, you will explain the whole misunderstanding while stating exactly what you did wrong, apologize profusely, and do whatever it takes to fix everything.

"Mom, I…"

"Nope, don't want to hear it. Now I am going back to my hotel to freshen up and meet your father. When I see you next you better have a plan." With that my mother pecked me on the cheek, and flounced off in a way that showed me where Alice got it.

I shook my head and slowly walked back to my hotel room, where I spent the rest of the night and the hours leading up to my race the next day, battling with myself. I had left her for a good reason. Heck I had left her for her own good, but Alice had said it had broken her. But then Alice had also said she had stopped gymnastics, but here she was competing. But mom had said it had ruined everything. Yeah it had ruined my life, but I had done it so I wouldn't ruin Bella's. And besides she had that Jacob guy right?

I had finally decided not to approach Bella. I would figure out something to tell my mother. Sure she would be mad but I reasoned she was my mother and therefore couldn't stay mad at me forever. At least I hoped so.

At least that is what I intended to do.

Bella Pov:

I came to and peeked open my eyes to see a generic hospital room. Fist of all this was becoming way too familiar of a situation- the whole passing out and ending up in a hospital thing. Second, every hospital in the world had the same generic bland décor.

The third thing I became aware of was Jake's familiar voice, "Oh yeah, Isabella is one of the hardest gymnasts I have to train. She just takes a lot of work…" I heard him say.

I opened my eyes the rest of the way and saw him flirting with a young beautiful nurse.

His back was turned to me, but she was facing me. I started shaking my hea d and pointing at him. Then I started making funny faces. She started laughing.

Jake turned, and I smiled at him, waggling my fingers innocently. He excused himself, and came into the room.

"Not funny Bella, though I am glad you are ok," he said.

"Hey she was way too old for you, and besides I was just living up to my reputation of your most challenging gymnast," I retorted.

Just then Kaity came into the room. "Oh, thank God she is gone. I was going to hurl if I heard her squeal about your muscles again," she said.

Jake laughed it off, but I was a second behind as I detected a slight note of jealousy in her voice- hmm interesting.

Before I could process that thought any further, a doctor walked into the room. He was a polished, dark-skinned very Italian-looking man. He was dressed richly; the only things identifying him as a doctor were the stethoscope around his neck and the very large needle in his hand.

He evicted Jake and Kaity out of the room and then turned to me.

"Hello Ms. Swan," he started before I interrupted.

"Bella," I corrected, nervously eyeing the gargantuan size needle in his hand. What?! Old habits die hard.

"Bella," he continued. "My name is Doctor Barrucci, how are you feeling today?"

I looked pointedly at the I.V. in my arm. When he just looked at me questioningly, I sighed.

"I feel fine."

"No nausea or dizziness?"

"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p'.

He nodded and added some notes to my chart. "It says here you fainted while on the balance beam, is that correct?"

I nodded.

"It also seems that you have a history of hospital visits."

"Well yes, it kind of comes with the job description of elite gymnastics," I said wondering if this guy was qualified to treat anyone.

Eventually he got to the cause of my lovely hospital visit. I had anemia. It's not uncommon among teenage girls, especially female teenage athletes like gymnasts or dancers who might not get enough nutrition in their diets. Basically I had to meet with a nutritionist when I got home to work out a special diet for gymnastics that also gave me enough iron so I didn't have a repeat of my little fainting spell.

In the meantime, I got a very large shot of iron in a place that I would rather not say. This along with eating a fruit cup was the stipulations to my getting the all clear. I walked out of the hospital with Bela, Kaity, and Jacob, after being cautioned to use my discretion.

We climbed into the car assigned to the U.S. by the competition committee. "Where to?" Bela questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"The gym," I answered without missing a beat.

"The gym," he reiterated, before turning to the driver next to him and nodding.

When we arrived, I hastened towards the little office that Marta had claimed as her for our stay. I knocked then waited anxiously for her to open the door.

"Ah Bella," she stated. "Come in."

I walked in, barely aware that Bela had slipped in after me. Marta acknowledged her husband with a nod before turning to me. "Well, what is the prognosis?"

"Anemia," I said hurriedly. "But I got a shot of iron and I have to work on getting more iron in my diet. The doctor gave me the all clear, now it's up to you. So please can I compete?"

She took her time with her answer. "You were given the all clear?" she asked.

I nodded, answering the rhetorical question.

"Anemia can be serious Isabella. You passed out on the beam today, you are lucky you didn't get hurt. I have to be concerned with the team's welfare, but more importantly I have to be concerned with your welfare. So I am afraid I cannot allow you to compete…"

I cut her off before she finished that sentence. "No!" I cried vehemently. "I _have _to compete… I _can't _stop now…"

She held up her hand and I fell into silence.

"You didn't let me finish. I cannot let you compete on all the apparatuses. I can however allow you to compete on one."

"Three," I bartered.

She opened her mouth to argue, but not before Bela cut her off. "Two," he said with finality. He held up a hand to stop both of us before we could protest. "It is a compromise."

When neither of us said anything, he continued. "Good now all that is left to decide is which two?"

In the end we had decided on vault and bars. Although I was the best on floor and beam, we had a strong showing for those two apparatuses with most of the team. Besides Kaity, we were a little short on the side of the vault, and since I had upped my difficulty, I could provide a much needed high score there, save any unforeseen difficulties. As for bars, with Alice not competing, I was tied for the highest difficulty on the U.S. team, and was known for my consistency on bars. Since He Kexin, who had the highest A score in the world right now, since Nastia Liukin retired, was competing, we needed every tenth of a point that we could get.

"Ok now that it is all settled go change into your leotard and get warmed up. After all it wouldn't be good for our captain to be late?"

"Captain?" I questioned.

"Yes," Marta said with a smile. "The girls voted, and it was unanimous."

I left her office beaming. I headed off to get changed in the locker rooms. Since I was running little late thanks to my meeting with Marta, all of the other girls were changed. They were gathered around gossiping as I quickly changed.

Apparently Tanya was out for the competition. She needed surgery on her knee, but if they did the surgery right away, the recovery would be minimal and she would be back to training in no time. Since it wasn't a major meet, she had decided to go ahead with the surgery. I couldn't blame her for her decision and I was glad she would be all right, but it just wouldn't have been a choice I would have made for myself. Especially if I could deal with the pain and make a full recovery either way.

But anyway our first alternate was taking her spot. Her name was Izabel, but everyone called her Izzie. She was another new senior who had a wicked floor routine. Her tumbling passes were tough, and like me she had the dance skills. We joked that it had something to do with the name. She was 5'2", and super skinny. If it hadn't been for her enormous muscles she would have been invisible when she turned sideways. She was tiny, but her bright bottle-red hair and large gray eyes made her stick out in a crowd.

When I had finished changing, they all gathered around me. The all looked up expectantly. Oh right, I was the captain.

"Um. I want to thank all of you first for picking me as captain," I stammered unsure.

The girls all clamored to say something, so it was pandemonium and I couldn't understand what anyone was saying. Kaity stepped up, and they quieted. "We just gave you what you deserved. You work so hard every day and you have inspired the rest of us to work harder. You give 110 percent when we know you have nothing left. You have helped all of us at least once be it by helping us with a move, or just encouraging us. So umm yeah…. That's why we voted for you."

The other girls nodded, and I smiled at them, trying to keep the tears from running down my face.

"Thank you. I don't know what to say," I said, waving off their protests at my thanks. "I guess I will start with just saying how each and every one of you deserves to be here. You guys have worked so hard for this, and don't let anyone take that away from you. Our team might not have as much experience- which is true since most of our competition here is competing with their teams from the Olympics, or at least with most of their team members- but we have so much heart and talent. We can win this, but we have to believe in ourselves, and believe in our team. Support your teammates, and we will support you too. We have got this, and no one can take it away from us, except for us. Let's do this!"

With that I hit the play button on the iPod speakers, and Bon Jovi's We Weren't Born to Follow, blasted through the speakers. We danced around the locker room, getting psyched up for the meet. This continued until Marta called us for warm-ups.

I stopped the music and gathered my team around me one last time. I looked at each girl in their deep blue leotards with the red swirls and USA across the chest. They all looked nervous, even Kaity, but I could also see a strength and determination in their eyes.

I put my hand in the center of our circle. One by one they added a hand to the pile. "USA!" we cheered.

I followed the rest of the team out, unable to wipe the smile from my face.

Long chapter for you guys R and R.


	33. Competing with Reservations

Hey guys have a new story I am working on and the first five reviewers get a sneak peek. Thanks to my beta Nancy! R and R.

"You know, Tim, this is the least experienced American team we have seen on the World stage in a long time."

"That's right Elfie, most of the gymnasts making up the team have just become age eligible for international competition. The most experienced on the team is Captain Isabella Swan. Kaity R is also fairly experienced, but she has not competed on the world stage in the last two years. And Tanya Denali is out with a knee injury gained in practice the other day. But they are up against some strong experienced teams. What do you think their odds are?"

"Well I don't think we can count them out completely. Difficulty wise they are pretty evenly matched with the top teams, but I guess it will all come down to nerves. I wouldn't count them out just yet though. "

We paraded into the arena and after being announced as a team and saluting the head judges, we peeled off our warm up suits. We were following the rotation of floor, vault, bars, and beam. It felt strange as I watched Izzie, Kaity, and Jackie prepare for floor.

"Wow, I don't believe it! Bella Swan is not competing in one of the events that she won Olympic gold in. I'm not sure what Marta is thinking right now, but it is definitely not a decision I would have made."

"Although Tim, it was questioned whether or not Swan would compete at all tonight after she collapsed on the beam during Podium Training tonight. I guess they are just playing it safe."

It was hard not being up there, and the announcers' words were not making it any easier. . The slightly childish, irrational side of me wanted to go and pout, but the larger part of me knew that I was a part of a team, and there was no I in team. It was right then that I decided that I would not focus on myself for this meet, but more on my team because they needed me more than I needed myself, if that makes any sense.

I could see the nerves radiating off of them, but it was coupled with a steely determination.

Jackie was up first, and besides little wobbles, she hit her routine. I was waiting at the base of the podium with a hug as soon as she stepped down. "Amazing!" I told her.

The same routine followed with Izzie. Then it was Kaity's turn.

I had to laugh as I watched her routine. It was a jazz version of Beyonce's Single Ladies. She rocked it, but my favorite part was when she pointed at someone in the crowd. I glanced up and saw it was Jake. His jaw dropped, but then he laughed and winked. I had known something was building between them and I guess Kaity decided to make the first move. I greeted her with a hug as well, and whispered in her ear, "About time!"

At the end of that rotation we moved to vault. This time I wouldn't be watching, I would be competing too.

Time seemed arbitrary. One moment I was congratulating Jaymie on her vault, and then Kaity had gone and it was my turn. This all happened so quick that it was like a blink of an eye. Then as I was standing at the starting point waiting for the green flag signal, it seemed to slow until each second felt as long as an hour. Finally as the all clear was given, time sped up. It felt as though I were hurtling down the runway at warp speed.

One had was placed on the ground, the other and the rest of my body quickly following as I led into the round off entry to my yurchenko vault.

My feet hit the spring board impossibly fast and I was flying backwards through the air. I stretched my arms out behind me and 'blocked' off the vaulting table.

I completed two twists and two flips in the air before miraculously pulling my body around to land perfectly. Legs together, chest high, and feet glued to the mat. It was textbook perfect, and the crowd knew it.

"You know Tim when I talked to her the other day she was worried she was out of shape for competition. If that is her out of shape, I can't wait to see what she will look like when she is back in top form!"

"I agree Elfie. I would have given anything to be that good out of shape at any point in my own gymnastics career."

I ran into the arms of my teammates. I felt like I was flying. No, I felt like I had forgotten how to fly and then all of a sudden I learned to soar!

I promised myself that scores didn't matter and I didn't even bother to check as mine was posted. This competition was more than just scores and medals. I had found what it felt like to fly again, and I wasn't going to let anything as mundane as scores ground me.

I was after Zoe in the rotation for uneven bars. My grips were chalked and the straps were secured around my wrists. I stepped up to the low bar and swung forward and up into my kip. Between my come back difficulties and the new code, this was the only routine of mine that I was able to keep the same from the Olympics.

I made it through my routines with very few mistakes. I had a leg separation on my pak salto (The move starts with the gymnast facing the low bar, swinging forwards towards the low bar and performing a backward salto to catch the low bar). And I took a little step on my landing, but overall I was proud of my performance.

I watched Izzie take her turn on bars.

That was the end of my active competition, but I still had to cheer my team through beam.

"Team Captain, Isabella Swan is really living up to her name. She has been at the bottom of the podium for each and every one of her teammates after every apparatus. She has definitely grown up as a competitor."

"Yes Marta Karolyi has said that she has become a seasoned competitor, and Bela says they should just make her an official coach. What else would she be at age 17?" the announcer joked.

I cheered Jackie, Kaity, and Jaymie on as the nailed their beam routines. We were the last country to go on the beam so we only had to wait a few seconds before finding out the standings. Since I hadn't paid attention to the scores the entire meet, I was surprised to find us in the gold position.

As I stood on the podium to receive the gold with the rest of my team, I felt a sense of being unfulfilled. It wasn't the fact that I had only competed on two of the apparatuses; no it was something much deeper than that.

And that was the reason I found myself back in the gym hours after the end of the competition. Well that and the fact that Kaity and Jake had finally admitted that they like each other and had taken over our room to 'get to know each other.' I didn't even want to think about what they were up to.

But either way I found myself in the gym at a loss of what to do. I normally would have tried to get a work out or a practice in, but for some reason for the first time in my life, I was devoid of the driving passion to practice.

I knew that my subconscious had drawn me to the gym for a different reason this time.

I had competed tonight, and quite honestly I had competed well. Not at my best, but at a fairly proficient level. But I hadn't felt the competitor in me come alive, and I knew that in order to even deserve my spot in the competition tomorrow, I would have to come to peace with myself as a competitor again.

Edward Pov:

There were two things I should have learned by now. One, time always sped up when you needed it to slow down, and never try to avoid your mother. Especially when she had a mission.

It seemed seconds between when my alarm went off to when the buzzer for my race rang out. And from there it just seemed to go by faster. I blew the record for my swim out of the water, pun intended.

A congratulatory hug was all that my mother spared time for before immediately jumping on me about how I was going to get Bella back.

I still had no inkling, and that was not the answer my mother was looking for. Yet again she made it very clear that I should fix this and fix it fast or… well let's just say I didn't want to know what the 'or else' meant.

It wasn't that I didn't want her back. During my sleepless night last night, I realized that regardless of all my good intentions, I had to try to win her back. The only problem now that I had decided was how. Would she even take me back?

Having no better plan, I ended up wandering around the small complex in the town where the athletes were staying.

I found myself outside the stadium where the gymnastics competitions were being held. I knew it was too late for her to be there since the competition was long over, but I went inside anyway.

I found a seat in the dark stands and pulled my iPod out. I closed my eyes and just tried to think.

I don't know when I became aware that someone else was in the gym. There was no sound to tip me off, but somehow I sensed it.

Opening my eyes, I confirmed what my other senses had already deduced. I was frozen in place as I watched Bella stand in the middle of the floor.

I knew this was my chance; that it was fate, but there was something in the look on her face that held me immobile in my seat.

I was entranced and could do nothing more than stare in amazement at the beautiful sight before me.


	34. Cinderella Song

Sorry for the wait. I rewrote this like six times and was almost done it when I headed to Disney. So unfortunately when I couldn't find any wireless connection in my hotel I couldn't finish it. I got it up as fast as I could though and I hope the length helps a little. It is 3, 339 words. I hope you like it! P.S. check out my other story Wolfprint.

Meg

I slipped of my flip flops at the end of the mat. I closed my eyes and centered myself.

My iPod, which had been playing softly in the background, changed songs. The song that now filled the air was the song that had been my saving grace these last few years. It helped remind me each time I wanted to give up, first when I was training for the Olympics, and then after that when I was alone, that there was something worth fighting for. That no matter what happened, or who let me down, I knew I could always depend on my own strength.

It was a song written by a fellow Olympic Gymnastics Champion, Carly Patterson. It was called Step Away and it spoke volumes.

Almost without conscious thought, my body began to move. I floated through my first steps as though I had no choice, but then I lost myself to the music and began to dance with my whole being.

Hey you could help me out?  
'Cause it seems I've lost my way  
This life and its pain and strife has seen its brighter days  
Hang on you say.  
Don't stop you say.  
Could help be on the way?

I twirled slowly, bringing my hands to my chest artfully.

I moved a few steps falling back into long held steps that I had rarely used in the last few months. I switch leaped gracefully, landing in a scale.

I'm movin' on.  
I'm passing through the crossroads. Whoa  
I will be strong  
I'm looking for tomorrow. Whoa  
It's only a step away.

Swinging the leg extended in the scale, I flipped my body gracefully to the ground. I rolled to my knees, and resting on my hands kicked out my legs with my toes pointed.

It's dark and it's getting late.  
The day has long passed by.  
I'm not moving,  
I'm losing time.  
Could the starlight be my guide?

Let go you say.  
Keep on you say.  
'Cause help is on the way. Yeah

Pushing up on my arms, I arched my back and head, bringing my pointed feet to touch the back of my head. I pushed into a handstand and straight into a tick tock. I twirled thrice on my hands before lowering to a split and throwing back my head. Rolling backward to my feet, I turned in a scale. Spreading my arms I ran a few steps into a leap.

Edward Pov:

Opening my eyes, I confirmed what my other senses had already deduced. I was frozen in place as I watched Bella stand in the middle of the floor.

I knew this was my chance; that it was fate, but there was something in the look on her face that held me immobile in my seat.

I was entranced and could do nothing more than stare in amazement at the beautiful sight before me.

She began to move and it seemed as though she was floating. As she turned slowly the song on my iPod changed. Josh Groban's So She Dances began playing. It seemed as though she were moving perfectly to the song even though I knew she couldn't hear it.

A waltz when she walks in the room  
She pulls back the hair from her face  
She turns to the window to sway in the moonlight  
Even her shadow has grace  
A waltz for the girl out of reach  
She lifts her hands up to the sky  
She moves with the music  
The song is her lover  
The melody's making her cry  
So she dances  
In and out of the crowd like a glance  
This romance is  
From afar calling me silently

I had forgotten how beautiful she was. My draw dropped as her short tight shorts allowed me a look at her amazing legs. It wasn't much for a starving man to live on, but it was enough. I was raised to be a gentleman but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate her sexiness (not that I would do anything about it). I mentally smacked myself and tried to focus. Hey, it was a lame excuse, but the key word in gentleman was _man_ right? Besides I doubt I could find a single person in the world who would blame me. Okay, maybe I could but I am pretty sure I could sway them to my point of view. Focus, Edward!

And I had forgotten the pull she had on me. It seemed as though every movement she made was pulling me harder than the force of gravity. I had seen her grace before with gymnastics, but when she danced….

I was secure enough in my masculinity to admit that I could _feel _when she danced. It seemed as though all of the emotions I had been feeling in the last couple months were being written with each small gesture or toe point.

Bella Pov:

I'm movin' on.  
I'm passin' through the crossroads. Whoa  
I will be strong  
I'm looking for tomorrow. Whoa

It's only a step away from pastimes  
just so caught up inside  
Help me find my way to the end of this ride  
I won't let me down. Whoa  
It's only a step away

I'm movin' on (I'm movin' on)  
I'm passin' through the crossroads (through the crossroads)  
Whoa (whoa)

Catharsis. That was what this was. In the past any form of workout would suffice if I was stressed, but for some reason this dance allowed me peace far better than any crying jag or workout I have had in the last few months.

I moved into an arabesque penche. It was one of my favorite ballet moves, but as it wasn't rated in the code of points I rarely got to use it. It started out simply with an arabesque, then I simultaneously lowered my upper body and raised my back leg until it was straight in the air and I had wrapped my hands around my base ankle. I pirouetted in a continuous motion, swinging my leg out behind me again and again, in a fouette. I switched positions, bending it toward my other calf before swinging it back out again. Finally I span into an illusion.

Edward Pov:

A waltz for the chance I should take  
But how will I know where to start?  
She's spinning between constellations and dreams  
Her rhythm is my beating heart

So she dances  
In and down off the ground like a glance  
This romance is  
From afar calling me silently

I can't keep on watching forever  
I give up this view just to tell her

This was my chance. She was right in front of me. All I had to do was call out to her. But I couldn't. Not only did I not know what to say, but I also didn't know if I could interrupt her. It was as though she were going through a form of catharsis. I understood that well. In recent months when it had all gotten to be too much I would sit in the center of the pool for as long as I could hold my breath. It was the only place I found peace and after causing her that much pain, could I really begrudge her finding peace?

It was like I could see all of the pain and stress flowing off her, and as she danced she seemed to grow lighter and leap higher.

I was still fighting with myself. I needed to take my chance because who knew if this opportunity would ever present itself again. But at the same time I still couldn't bring myself to interrupt her. I compromised. I would wait until she was done, and hope it wasn't too late.

Bella Pov:

I will be strong (I will be strong)  
I'm looking for tomorrow (for tomorrow)  
Whoa (whoa)

It's only a step (It's only a step)  
I've made up my mind (made up my mind)

I threw my head back as I bent backwards, my arms thrown out behind me. I simultaneously rose to demi pointe (on your toe but not fully on the tip of your toes), raised one bent leg to my other calf, and threw back my arms. My loose tunic top and my streaming hair floated around me as though they were dancing too. Jumping up in the same position, I touched my toes to my head.

I felt stronger secure in myself. Every little revelation that I would survive had been leading up to this moment. The moment in which I realized not only could I survive, but I could thrive.

Edward Pov:

When I close my eyes I can see  
The spotlights are bright on you and me  
We've got the floor  
And you're in my arms  
How could I ask for more?

All this time I had been seeing this idealized version of what our relationship should be. How it should have been picture perfect. How I should have never had to leave her to keep her safe. How our athletic careers and obligations shouldn't get in the way of us spending time together. But I never stopped to realize that that is what made us who we were. I knew that I wouldn't have fell in love with her if she didn't have that amazing personality. Her drive and irritating stubbornness, and complete faith made her the perfect match for me. If I were being honest, I would have to admit I was stubborn, and stupid too. If it hadn't been for my stupidity and complete obstinate belief that I was right in leaving her and no other way would work, well let's face it, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Bella Pov:

Now is the time (now is the time)  
Whoa (whoa)  
It's only a step  
Away

I had been relying on others for support all of this time. Looking for their approbation that I could succeed, never thinking that I had everything I needed inside. The strength of a warrior, the drive of a competitor, the heart of a champion!

I twirled before dancing through two leaping bounds. I leapt into the air my body in a split both arms and legs. I had leapt so high and was on a diagonal that it looked as though I were in a slanting point towards the ground. I felt as if I had wings in that leap!

Edward Pov:

So she dances  
In and down off the ground like a glance  
This romance is  
From afar calling me silently

She was amazing! For her to have the courage to fight through everything. I could see that I had knocked her down with my actions, but as I watched her leap into the air as though she were flying, I realized just how strong she was. She was probably, no definitely, stronger than me. I had been so resolute in trying to protect her that I never realized she didn't need protection. Hell she didn't need anything, she was perfect on her own: strong, and invincible. I knew I was strong too which made it that much more amazing the difference that came over me when we were together. Separately we were each forces to be reckoned with. Together… well who knows what we are capable of?

Bella Pov:

I performed a front aerial (a cartwheel with no hands), landing in on the ground. Rolling out, I slid my body to the floor as the last strains of the song died out.

Hey you could help me out,  
'cause it seems I've lost my way

Edward Pov:

I can't keep on watching forever  
And I'm givin' up this view just to tell her

I stood up as she lay down. This was it. It was now or never! I moved closer to the rail and opened my mouth to call her name when…

( A. I COULD BE MEAN AND END IT HERE BUT I AM GOING TO CONTINUE).

Bella Pov:

I laid there for a second before sitting up. I wiped away the one tear I had shed. Standing up, I went to grab my stuff but something stopped me.

I sensed someone else was in the gym. I felt a surge of anger because I had thought I was alone. And despite the fact that I was just dancing, it had been an emotional moment, a private moment, my moment.

"Who's there?" I called out accusingly.

Someone stepped out of the shadows. "Bella."

I gasped. That voice. That face….

He hopped over the gate and descended the steps. I was frozen as he approached.

He drew closer and opened his arms as though to embrace me. I hated myself for the weakness that made me want to enfold myself there forever.

"Bella, I…" he began.

"Don't touch me!" I whispered.

He froze, but pleaded, "Bella, I… I am sorry."

This is what shocked me into action. "Sorry?" I scoffed. "What would you be sorry for? Nothing happened." I was proud and a little shocked at the steely sound in my voice.

He looked shocked, and a little hurt I noticed with a grim satisfaction.

"Bella, I mean I wasn't doing all that great, and Alice said you were having a hard time, so…"

I cut him off. "Hard time me? No. I wasn't having a hard time Edward; I was having an impossible time. First I had my heart broken; no it wasn't like it was broken. It was like there was a giant hole in my chest, as though when you left you took my heart with you. I was empty inside. I could barely drag myself out of bed every morning but I had to pretend for Charlie. And to top it all off, I was injured, which led me to make the stupidest decision of my life. No the second stupidest decision of my life, the first was believing that you could love me."

Edward Pov:

Wow in all of the scenarios that I had imagined this was definitely not one of them. Okay maybe it was, but I never imagined she could be so bitter. I mean not that I blame her, but there was such emptiness, such jadedness about her. I felt my heart break all over again as I witnessed what I had done to her. She wasn't the sweet, pure woman that she was before. No, now she was broken, and bitter, and resentful. It was like her spark had been extinguished and relit with something else.

I tried to interrupt when she claimed that believing that I could love her was stupid, but she held up her hand to stop me.

"No, you had your chance to talk all those months, now it is my turn. I quit gymnastics, as insane as that sounds. I gave up everything I had left, the one thing that you couldn't take away from me, and I gave it up freely. There was nothing there anymore. I wasn't Isabella Swan, international gymnast. I wasn't Isabella Swan, Edward Cullen's girlfriend. I wasn't Isabella Swan national role model. I was Isabella Swan, the nobody. If it wasn't for Ja… a friend, I don't know whether I would have made it."

This time I managed to say something. "You mean Jake," I stated, unable to hide the disgust in my voice. I know I had intended for her to move on, but now that it was a real possibility, I found myself incredibly jealous.

It was the wrong thing to say because something sparked behind her eyes.

"Yes, Jake. Jake who was there to pick me up when you left me broken. Jake who forced me to get out of bed and try to live my life. Jake who helped me get back into shape when I thought it was impossible. And Jake who gave me the way and will to train and compete again."

"Oh I suppose he was there to pick you up, and then made his move," I said bitterly. "I thought you knew he wasn't a good guy Bella. I thought that you figured that out last summer."

Bella Pov:

I felt a grim sort of satisfaction when he started over Jake, but it was quickly overshadowed by extreme anger. How dare he freak out? First of all nothing happened between Jake and me and second, why should he care? And another thing, Jake did nothing wrong last summer. It was all me. I had unintentionally used him and I was lucky he had forgiven me.

"You have no right to say anything about Jake. You gave up the right to have a say in my life when you walked out of it." I stated angrily.

"Bella, I'm…"

"Don't! Don't you dare say you are sorry Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! I finally managed to pick myself back up again, and you come waltzing back into my life and ruin what little I have salvaged of my life. Is this a game to you? Do you get kicks out of seeing how many times you can push me down until I can't get back up again?" My voice had dropped to a harsh whisper at this point. It felt as though the words were cutting me up from the inside.

I didn't stop though. I needed to get this all off my chest. I needed to tell him just exactly what he did to me. I didn't know if it would matter to him or not, but to me it made all the difference.

But before I could continue he cut me off. This time I couldn't stop him.

"Sorry," he shot out. "Look, I screwed up. I know that. But I really do love you. I never intended to hurt you."

"Whether you intended to or not, you did. But either way it doesn't matter anymore. It's over with. Let's just pretend nothing happened and get on with our lives."

As soon as I said the words, I knew that it would kill me, but I also knew that it was right. I didn't want him to feel obligated to stay with me. I knew his self-sacrificing personality would make him feel as though he should fix this and get back together despite his own wishes.

So I would let him go. I remember hearing a quote once that said "If you love something, set it free." I was setting him free.

I stalked past him and grabbed my iPod, knowing that I needed to get out of there before I lost my strength and selfishly begged him to stay.

When I went to grab my flip flops, he grabbed my arm to stop me. "Bella, I love you."

He pulled me to him and tried to kiss me, but I snapped. I pulled back my hand and slapped him… hard.

He raised his hand to his cheek in disbelief. I covered my mouth, just as shocked.

There was a commotion and I looked up to catch sight of a video camera lens whipping out of sight. Edward turned too, and I took my shot. I broke loose of his hold and grabbed my shoes, hitting the ground running.

I didn't stop until I made it all the way back to my room.

Kaity was nowhere to be seen. I collapsed into bed hiding under my covers as though I could hide from the world. I ran obsessively through the last few hours.

It wasn't until I was almost asleep until I realized I had lost one of my shoes, just like Cinderella. Only I had lost more than my shoe, I had lost my Prince Charming too.


	35. Everything Looks Worse on National TV

I am working on updating faster for you guys. I hope this makes sense cause I wrote most of this chapter hopped up on cold medicine. It would figure a day off from school with beautiful weather (finally) and I am too sick to enjoy it. Anyway R and R. And I apologize to any reviews I didn't answer last time, please let me know who reviewed and did not receive a review reply from me so I can rectify it.

Meg

Bella Pov:

When I woke up I was surprisingly calm. I was determined to put the whole thing behind me. It was with that mentality that I got out of bed and began getting ready for my day. I couldn't afford to lose focus because of Edward; I had more important things to occupy my attention today.

This was my chance to prove that I wasn't a washed up champion who should have retired, or a one hit wonder. Sure, last night was technically my first competition back, but I hadn't competed in the all around and it was only a team competition. Don't get me wrong team competitions are very important and it is vital to be a good team competitor as well as an all arounder if you want to make the big leagues in gymnastics, but when it comes down to it, gymnastics is an individual sport. It always comes down to you and the apparatus. That's what separates the champions from those who can't hack it. It is one thing to compete when you know that a teammate's routine can cover any mistakes you make, or a fall. It is a completely different circumstance when it is just you and you have one shot, and one shot only to prove yourself and realize your dreams. This train of thought followed me around as I continued to get ready.

Kaity's entrance interrupted my musings. "Ooh someone must have had a good time last night," I teased, acting way more lighthearted than I had felt in a long time.

"No!" she protested quickly. I glanced up at my roomie in surprise.

She seemed tense and was hiding what looked to be a newspaper behind her back. As I continued to gaze questioningly at her, she seemed to relax.

"Well okay, I did. But nothing happened… okay we kissed a bit, and talked a lot, but nothing else happened!"

I laughed at the blush gracing her tan cheeks, but said no more. It was obvious she wasn't in a mood for teasing this morning.

I leaned over to grab the remote to check the weather when she screamed, "No!"

"God! Chill, I am just checking the weather," I told her, continuing to do just that.

Before I could even hit the power button, I was tackled.

"Oomph!" I exclaimed, surprised to find myself on the ground. "What the hell was that for?" I questioned angrily.

Before she could respond our door opened and a jovial looking Jake entered. He took one glance at the two of us piled in the ground and a grin worthy of the Cheshire Cat appeared on his face.

"Well, well. My two favorite girls half dressed, rolling around on the floor. Did Christmas come early?" he laughed.

"Stuff it Jake," we chorused. Kaity added a "hi!" with a slight blush.

I took full advantage of her moment of distraction. Wriggling loose from underneath her, I triumphantly grabbed the remote.

"Ha ha!" I laughed, dancing out of reach and hitting the power button on the remote. Sure I could have walked over to the television and turned it on by hand, but at this point it was personal.

My triumph was short lived however, as she took a desperate lunge for it. This time I was braced and I managed to keep my balance as I held the remote high above my head out of her reach. What I hadn't counted on was my traitor of another best friend helping her out.

Jake walked over and grabbed it right out of my hand, but before he could turn it off, the commercial that had been playing ended and what was shown next caused us all to freeze.

The resounding smash of a slap echoed from the too loud television.

My breath caught in my throat as the scene between Edward and I flashed before my eyes. But no, I wasn't reliving it in my memory. No, I was watching it from a third point of view that was invading that personal moment. It was a distant, shaky shot, as though whoever was taping it was not prepared for what they were filming, but it got the point across quite well.

I sank unsteadily to the edge of the nearest bed, and I was vaguely aware of Jake and Kaity closing in, concerned, but I waved them off.

"Bellward snaps with a slap," the reporter on the screen stated.

"Last summer at the London Olympics, America's Aquaman, and America's Darling fell in love. It was a whirlwind romance between these two champions. Record setter Edward Cullen, and All-Around Gymnastics Champion Isabella Swan broke more than records when they fell in love, they also broke the hearts of millions of hopeful fans when they fell for each other. A "Golden Couple" in every way, they had it all, medals, looks, love, and the good wishes of fans all over. "

A veritable slideshow of pictures of Edward and I separately and together flashed across the screen.

"Even after the Olympics were over and it seemed as though a heartbreaking goodbye was in the pictures, Edward and Bella somehow managed to make it work. Apparently finding living across the country from each other too hard (Cullen lived in Chicago, and Swan in Philadelphia), the two quickly made a move in location and their relationship. They moved to a small town in the Olympic Peninsula where Cullen's father, Carlisle Cullen, who also happens to be Swan's new coach, had recently opened a gym. Reportedly the two barely spent a minute apart except for when they were training."

She is making it sound like I moved in with him, I thought slightly disgusted before the next part of her report recaptured my interest.

"It was a fairytale story for these two sports superstars, complete with magic and a happily ever after for the besotted couple, or was it? A few months ago rumors that the couple had a bad split hit the headlines. Rumors ranged from Swan ran off with a fan to Cullen injured Swan were furthered by the fact that Cullen was in swimming Siberia and Swan seemed to have quit training."

A shot of Edward looking angry in the airport dashed across the screen followed by the one of me taken outside of my physical therapists.

"No one knew exactly what happened or if it was true, until now. This reporter witnessed a scene that can leave no doubt that there is trouble in paradise. And today we bring it to you to be the judge." 

With that the scene between Edward and I that I had experienced hours before, was played. I was too enthralled to be incensed that such a private moment was captured and shown to the world, though I knew later I would be furious. The one thought I spared towards the broadcast was that everything looked worse on syndicated television!

I watched entranced as the me on the televisions stalked past Edward and grabbed something from the ground. I watched as I leaned over a second time to grab something else from the ground and Edward's arms stopped me.

It looked incredibly sweet and ardent, and romantic when he pulled me into his arms and leaned down to kiss me. All of that just made the following slap that much worse.

Edward's hand shot up to his cheek and the hurt and shock was evident on his face even from a distance. My own shock was less evident but just as true. There was no sounds being as the camera was thankfully too far away to capture what we had said, but the message was clear nonetheless.

Not seconds later it was replaced by another emotion as the commotion that had broken into our little bubble became apparent. The camera shook and went out of focus for a minute and I deduced what had happened. It seemed as though whoever was controlling the camera in their bid to get a closer look at the action, had stumbled.

And like that it was all over. The camera steadied and refocused just in time to catch a glimpse of me running out of the arena as though the hounds of hell were on my heels.

The one part in the clip that I hadn't seen before was a close up of Edward's face. I didn't know such a look of devastation was possible, but at the same time I realized that it mirrored the look that had been too often present on my face in the last few months.

It almost made me rethink my decision. But it had already been made and it was too late to change it now, wasn't it?

Edward Pov:

My whole day was haunted by the scene the night before. As if it wouldn't have been imprinted in my mind as it was, every time I passed any form of news media, I was bombarded by pictures and images of it. Not to mention the paparazzi were clamoring for an interview, practically swarming me anytime I moved from one location to the next.

I tried to place it out of my mind as I swam in my freestyle final, but there was no hope for it and I swam one of the worst races of my life. Granted I still placed but it should have been an easy field for me to decimate, but I finished in second place, far below my personal best.

To top it off I had barely finished cooling my muscles down before I was accosted by my mother. "You messed up Edward Anthony Cullen," she reprimanded. "Now what are you going to do about it?" she questioned.

I hung my head and whispered my answer. "I don't know mom, I don't know."

With that I walked dejectedly away. Something in my expression must have gotten my point across because my mother neither followed nor berated me. The only acknowledgement she made was a gentle pat to my shoulder as I passed.

I had waited too long. I had caused too much damage to repair it. It reminded me of a line from a nursery rhyme: all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.

When I saw the look on her face last night when she first realized it was me, I had thought I still had a chance. Oh how wrong I was. It broke me. I thought I had been broken before when I chose to leave her, but I hadn't even scratched the surface on broken. Now I could relate to the pain she must have felt when I had left her. Or maybe I was wrong, maybe she was fine and if I had stayed away she would have moved on and lived happily. No, I told myself. Despite all that had happened we had loved each other deeply and I knew she had felt the same acute loss I had was now experiencing, but despite all of the love, it was too late to fix our relationship.

She had decided this time and maybe it was more than I deserved to even hope for a chance of reconciliation. I now had a heavy price to pay, but it was a price that I would honor if she could finally be happy; no matter what it did to me.

My melancholy musings were interrupted by a young woman wearing the official polo and khaki shorts that I had come to associated with those running this dual championships.

"Mr. Cullen?" she asked in thickly accented English.

My answering smile was weak and I reminisced about a time not so long ago where I would have dazzled her with a beaming smile as Bella had too often accused me of.

"The organizers would like to have a word with you if it is convenient."

I nodded, though I felt little curiosity. "Lead on," I gestured to her, holding open the door for her.

I followed though I longed just to go curl up and hide from the world. I had little interest in what this meeting was for though it would soon become one of the most influential decisions of my life.


	36. Deductions and Decisioins

_**Hey guys sorry for the wait. Yet again my life has taken control and it didn't allow for writing time. I have been trying to write this chapter and have written it like 10 times just ask a puppy-called-leah. On top of that I've been working when I normally write, and I messed up my back( the l1-l4 vertabrae in my back are displaced) so sitting up to type hurts! Anyway enjoy and I promise I will try to get the next chapter up faster, good news is soon I will be GRADUATING! So I should have some more time to write. First five reviewers get to ask a question. R AND R!**_

_**Special Shout out the SEN10R Class of 2010! **_

Bella Pov:

I managed to lock all of my feelings away into an iron box in the back of my head to review for later. So it was Isabella the competitor who took to the floor after warm ups.

I took my 30 second touch on beam. I needed to work on my flight series so I decided to skip practicing my mount in favor of getting two attempts for my series. I hopped onto the beam and knowing that my time started ticking away from the second I touched the beam. Taking a deep breath to relax my body (the worst thing you can do is to hold your breath will on the beam because your body tightens and you are more likely to lose your balance). I flipped forward for the first part of my flight series, then keeping in motion, I threw myself backwards into my first back handspring, I had barely landed it before I was launching myself into my one handed back handspring step out. I was a little wobbly on my first attempt, but on the second one I was bang on. The timer sounded signaling I had ten seconds to dismount. I barely had enough time for my dismount so I rushed it a little to avoid incurring any time penalties. Luckily I landed with a large step as my only problem.

I just had to wait for four other gymnasts including Kaity R to take their 30 second touches and I was to head off the competition on beam. I stood at the foot of the podium seeming to be calmly watching the other competitors warm up, but in reality I was a nervous wreck. It was a façade I had perfected over the years but it was a lot harder to hold up now that I was out of practice.

"This is Tim Daggat with Elfie Schlieger and Nastia Liukin at the Volturi Invitational. This is Isabella Swan's first individual competition back since winning the Olympic all-around gold medal. Nastia, you were in the same position a few years ago, tell me what is running through her mind right now and what are your predictions for her competition?"

"Well Tim, believe it or not she is probably very nervous since she is out of the competition mindset, not to mention that she has so much more to prove. She has to defend her title. I find her really admirable because she is competing in all four events tonight rather than easing back in, and to top it all off, she is coming back from some serious injuries. I have had the pleasure to do a workshop with her a few years ago, and I have always been amazed by her talent, but even as of two years ago I probably wouldn't have predicted her becoming the all-around champion. Don't get me wrong she is an amazing gymnast, but I didn't believe she had enough confidence in her own abilities to clinch the win. She proved me wrong though, so I will never predict an outcome for her. With Bella, anything is possible, but she is going to have to fight for it because she has her work cut out competing first on balance beam. "

"That is right Nastia. Starting on the balance beam takes nerves of steel because it is so treacherous and one mistakes can throw you for the rest of the competition. Kaity R is also starting on beam and Deng LinLin from China who is currently one of the favorites for this competition has the advantage of starting on vault. This could really make the difference in who will take the gold."

The last gymnast to warm up left the competition space. I climbed the stairs to the podium and chalked up methodically.

I braced myself facing the beam. I flexed my fingers in a comforting motion. I raised my leg and swung it down to gain momentum. My body flew over the beam and I reached out feeling for that perfect moment in time to catch the beam and missed it. It took me a second to realize that I had missed it, but my body was already in recovery mode.

Unfortunately the move was unrecoverable. It was too late to grab the beam, and too late to bail out. Because of this, I landed half on the beam and half off. Slamming my arm against the beam shocked me into action and I curled into a ball to minimize the damage. Luckily no damage was done. I might have tapped my head, but not enough to do anything more than shake me. I stood up slowly, a little dazed and shook out the arm I had landed on to get rid of the pins and needles feeling.

I was shocked that I had fallen because normally you could feel when you were off, and I had been positive I had been on.

"Shake it off," I whispered to myself as I rechalked my hands and dabbed a little on my feet as well. I stood by the edge of the beam.

I was in recovery mode from the moment I remounted. I knew that every bobble counted and I had to each move perfect. I was going after each move, fighting for each tenth of a point. At the same time I was trying to hold my nerves, insecurities, and disappointment at bay. I knew that I wasn't completely out of the running yet, but I knew I had not made it easy on myself.

I hit my flight series with barely a hitch, and I tried to use that to keep me positive. I had been debating about using my Liukin (salto forward piked, take off from one leg to one foot landing to scale, and held for two seconds.) I decided to go for it in the end though, despite the fact I was still having a little trouble with it and my confidence was already shaken. I figured I would give it my all out there, screwing the potential disaster, and hoping to reap the benefits of risk.

To say I nailed it perfectly would be a lie, but so would saying I blew. I managed the trick fairly well with only a slight bobble on the D-rated skill.*

The mental toll was astronomical, and by the time I landed my dismount (thankfully with a stick), I was exhausted. I received my score with outward indifference. On the inside however, I was calculating every possible combination of scores that I would need in order to still have a shot at medaling or at the very least placing respectfully.

I sat in one of the metal folding chairs lined against the wall. I retreated into myself trying to regain my mental sanguine.

"I can't believe it! Isabella Swan fell off of her signature mount! What a tragedy! Did she cave to the pressure or is this something else entirely?"

"I don't think she caved Tim. I think she is just off and that can be one of the worst feelings in the world when you are out there competing. It is hard to get yourself back on track after something like that, but not impossible. She still has a shot at the medals, but it is going to depend a lot on her ability to bounce back and what the rest of the field is capable of. "

"You are completely right, Nastia. And we have seen her bounce back from worse, but she seems to be a changed gymnast. She is almost unrecognizable from just a year ago. It used to be you could always count on her to be smiling and interacting with the fans and other gymnasts despite her standings, but it seems as though she is shutting herself down. Has she passed her peak like so many of the best gymnasts, or has she just hit a snag? Elfie, what do you think?"

"I guess we will just have to wait and see Tim. She might just not be on the top of her game for a variety of reasons right now. This is her first major competition back, she had been out training for the longest time probably since she started gymnastics, and to top it all off she had to train back from an injury, and she did this all without a certified coach."

My group moved to floor and since I was the last to go I managed to relax enough to be able to focus. I even managed to watch Kaity's routine as she competed right before me. The part in the middle where she incorporated the single ladies dance into her routine still made me giggle. By the time she was in her closing pose, I was ready to go.

It was time to test my new routine and I was going to leave it all on the mat.

Edward Pov:

For the second time that day I was heading back along the ornate hallway. I nodded to the receptionist whose name I believed was Gianna. I would have found her beautiful if I hadn't been blinded by the refulgence of my Bella.

I had seen her compete on the balance beam, and watched as she fell on her signature mount. I knew that physically there was almost no reason for her to fall on that mount. I had watched her practice that mount a million times. So it had to be something else, and I think I knew what had thrown her.

Not to sound conceited, but I knew I was to blame.

I had left after seeing her score and the look on her face. To anyone else it would seem that she was in deep concentration, but I like to think I knew her better than that.

She was devastated and she was beating herself up for something that was outside of her control. I knew she would be running through every possible way to make up for the deficit from her beam score. She was losing her focus and her confidence despite having barely a single bobble after her initial fall.

I wanted to take her in my arms and comfort her. I wanted to shake her until she remembered just how wonderful she was and that it was human to make mistakes.

She had so many mountains to climb right now and I knew most of that was my fault, but I also knew she would be blaming herself in her martyr qualities. I swear the girl should have been born a few centuries ago where she could have gotten herself killed for a good cause.

But I knew I had forfeited the right to comfort her when I walked out of her life.

I pulled my train of thought together as I reached a pair of ornate doors. I took a deep breath before knocking decisively on the right door.

"Enter!" I heard.

I pushed open the door and walked into the grandly furbished room. If I had thought that the doors were ornate, then the room inside was practically palatial.

"Ah Edward!" the man called Aro greeted me.

He was sitting behind the largest, most opulent desk in the room. It was flanked on either side by two slightly less elaborate. His two business partners Caius and Marcus were seated there.

"Mr. Volturi sir," I answered respectfully.

"Aro, please." He requested, stepping out from behind his desk his arms open to embrace me.

Something about him made me uncomfortable, but as he was offering me an answer to my problem, I ignored my unease.

"So Edward, have you thought about my proposition?"

"I have," I answered carefully. "And I am a little uncertain on a few points…."

"Why don't you try us out on a probationary trial?" he recommended before I could voice my concerns. "And we can deal with any questions you have as they arise."

I thought for a moment before extending my hand.

"You have a deal."

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" Aro's eyes had taken on a greedy acquisitive gleam. "You will have anything you wish. You will not regret this."

As I shook his hand I felt as though I was making a deal with the devil.

But I knew it was right. Isabella wanted to be friends and I knew I would always want something more. I also knew that she needed to be training with my father again to be taken seriously in the gymnastics world.

I knew she would do anything to stay away because once she made up her mind, my girl was set. So I would stay away… far away. And one day maybe when we both had healed, maybe I would go home and take her in my arms and we could be together.

But for now I do the only thing I was able for her, I would grant her peace.


	37. Medals and Meetings II

Okay a few things. First I apologize for the long A.N. Second sorry for the wait, first I had written half the chapter on loose leaf and then I lost if of course so then I had to rewrite it ( I did make it extra long though). Third I have been trying to upload this on fanfic for the last four days and it hasn't been working (anyone else having trouble or is it my comp?). Finally someone offered to make a polyvore for me. I don't remember who it was but if you are still willing or if anyone wants to do it let me know please cause that would be awesome and I could post extras and stuff.

I am trying to work on my updating faster now that summer is here and reviews help. Thanks to my readers.

LAST THING I AM OFFICIALLY A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE AND COLLEGE HERE I COME!

Meg

I jumped off the edge of the podium after my floor routine, the crowd and announcers reeling after my performance.

"That was one of the best floor routines we have seen all day, all year, longer even. The uniqueness in her landings was something I have never seen before. With the new code of points, the women gymnasts must stick their tumbling passes without the customary artistic step out that we are used to seeing. This is similar to the rules for the men's floor routine, but in my opinion takes away some of the beauty from their routines, and eliminates the artistic part of Women's Artistic Gymnastics. It is more technical but less aesthetically pleasing. Swan has found a way around that. In my opinion, she should be awarded extra points from the judges from rebounding into other acrobatic and dance skills in order to circumvent landing deductions. But it is up to the judges, and here is the score…. I don't believe it! That score is way too low, almost two whole points off of her execution score, and the crowd is going wild!"

The crowd was booing at the lowness of my score, but I was already looking ahead. I was disappointed sure, but I knew that I couldn't dwell on it.

I was solidly in the top five, which although not ideal, was a large leap in one rotation. I was already thinking ahead to my vault and in no time I was standing at the end of the runway ready to take my turn.

I rolled my ankles, first one than the other, in a comforting motion that I had used for as long as I could remember. It was a motion meant to loosen my ankles, but over time it had become a habit that was more comfort than necessity each time I prepared to vault.

The green flag was raised and I hurtled down the runway faster than I ever had before. I garnered so much speed that I was apprehensive that I would be able to control my round off entry, but it was in vain. I powered though it and blocked off the vaulting horse with such power that my newly more difficult vault seemed almost too easy. I twisted and flipped through the air, I felt for my landing…

And it was a stick! I threw back my arms triumphantly in my salute. My score came up and although it was a really good score, it was still not what I needed. I was yet again calculating in my head and no matter what I did the numbers were coming up short. My bars routine was good but my difficulty wasn't high enough to take first even if I was perfect. I know I should have just been happy that I had a solid shot at the top three, but now that I was being honest I really wanted that gold. I wanted to prove to myself and my critics that not only was I back and still in the running but that I was fighting and I was going to succeed.

A thought was being born, but the risk of it could far outweigh any bonus it could get me. I rechalked and checked my grips but before I took to the competition space Kaity got my attention. All it took was one word and my mind was set. "Korbut*" she said. It was exactly what I had been thinking earlier and I decided to go for it. I began my routine with my basic glide swing to a Kip. I followed the rest of my routine until right before my dismount. I swung and folded my body so my toes were on the high bar between my hands. From my toe on I released on my upswing straightening my body so I was in a stand. I paused barely a second to catch my balance before jumping backward into a full twisting back flip. I caught the bar allowing myself a brief smile before swinging straight into another toe on into my full in back out dismount. I stuck it out of pure determination and straightened to tumultuous cheering and applause.

There was a delay on my score and it seemed as though the judges were hotly debating my marks.

"What were you thinking?" Marta exclaimed.

I hadn't thought of it like that. Everyone who has seen the movie Stick It knows about the arbitrary marking power of gymnastics judges, but anyone who has been a gymnast knows just how much it really sucks.

"Marta, I…"

She held up a hand. "There is nothing more to be said. You made a decision and you will have to live with its consequences."

My score finally came up and if the boos of the crowd before had seemed loud, it was nothing compared to now. The entire stadium rose to its feet, booing the judge's decision.

I bowed my head in shame though. I didn't deserve their support, I knew the rules, and I had broken them anyway.

Marta stormed past me in her determined walk. "By the way, Isabella, it was a beautiful piece of gymnastics."

And with that I watched in shock as she went to contest my score. Despite her reprimand, she was on my side.

The rules of contestation in gymnastics are very strict and scores are very rarely changed, but I was very fortunate.

My score was changed, however marginally.

"Marta Karolyi and Isabella Swan have won the contestation of her score. The judges have reviewed and decided that the original score was too low. The change was not a big change, but it has currently placed her in third place with four gymnasts left to go in the finals. Her use of the previously banned Korbut* flip with a full twist was a stroke of genius, not to mention incredibly difficult to pull off. I think if anything her score should have been higher, but that is the discretion of the judges. Does she still have a chance at staying in the medals? When we return from this message from our sponsors we will find out."

Tied for second. I had missed gold by a marginal amount. There had been a scary moment where I had thought I had placed third or fourth but Kaity R and I had tied. Since this wasn't an Olympic competition and no tie breakers were implemented Kaity and I both received the silver medal.

I stood on the podium proud of my achievement but also knowing that I would do whatever I could to never let myself come in second because of my own mistakes. If I lost because another gymnast was better that was one thing, but if I lost because I allowed myself to cave to the pressure like I did on beam…. Well that was just unacceptable.

After the hundreds if pictures that always followed gymnastic medal ceremonies, I headed back to the locker rooms to change. Before I could however I was accosted by one of the organizers who arranged our stay here.

"Mr. Volturi and his brothers wish to see you," she told me. "Me?" I questioned although there was no one else in sight.

She rolled her eyes at me as though I were too slow to comprehend what she was saying. "You. Are. Requested. To. Meet. With. Mr. Volturi." she enunciated slowly making each word into its own sentence.

I smiled at her faux politely. "Thanks so much for clarifying. I'm sure Mr. Volturi will be ecstatic to hear how helpful his staff is."

She blanched slightly at my thinly veiled threat, but tried to cover it with false bravado. "Don't keep them waiting,"

Listening to her advice just in case, I hurriedly grabbed my bag and slid my warm up suit jacket on over my leo. I followed the very irate secretary whose name I remembered to be Gianna.

I followed her down an ornate hallway but was too preoccupied to note much before I reached a pair of doors that wouldn't have been out of place on the Titanic (before it sank of course). Before I could knock, the doors were opened and I was ushered into a room even more palatial than the doors.

"Isabella!" I was greeted by an overly enthusiastic man with an accent that was unidentifiable. It was a mix of a British and Italian, and just overtly European.

Whatever it was, it caused the way he said my name to come out as Izzabeyya. He took my proffered hand and placed a kiss upon it.

I tried not to cringe away from his over familiarity.

I tuned back in as he began speaking again.

"We have a proposition for you."

I raised an eyebrow as he peaked my interest.

"So let me get this straight," I said after he had finished outlining his offer. "You want me to train here with you…"

"Not just train," Aro interrupted. "But help revolutionize the training of elite athletes. You will still retain your American citizenship and eligibility to compete at international events under the American flag but you will be trained here."

"What I don't understand is what you get out of this deal. I mean if I am being trained her but I don't compete for you, then what good does it do you? And why me? Why not Kaity R, or Deng LinLin? I didn't even place gold, and I was almost beat out for the silver. I only medaled by the smallest of margins."

The last part came out as a whisper as I was still upset over the outcome of the meet.

"You my dear are the Olympic All Around Gold Medalist. You are the best there is despite your recent difficulties and if you train with us that will be a thing of the past. And that is what we get if you train with us. We will have the Queen of Gymnastics training in our gym. You will draw in and be a model to the next generation of champions, all of whom are to be trained by us."

Insert evil laugh I thought as I had a quick flash of Aro as an evil mastermind. I forced myself to focus back on the conversation at hand.

"I can help with the coaching?" I asked hopefully.

Aro laughed. "Oh, my dear girl, no. We better leave that up to the professional coaches. But what you will have is a state of the art gym filled with training technology that no other gym in the world has even heard of yet. Also the best coaches and nutritionists that money can buy will be onsite 24/7. You will have your own suite where you can come and go as you please. Of course all quests will have to be verified for your own safety of course. You will be excused for the American national training camps if you wish. Although you will have to make up for our missed sessions so we can fix any bad habits up and solidify your training in our methods. You will be able to plan most of your hours around your schedule and will have the opportunity to be tutored by the best professors in the world. You will be expected to complete a minimum of thirty five hours of training a week, as well as additional hours of conditioning outside of the gym. Whatever you wish for is yours to ask. All we demand is that you follow our rules and our training methods. You will be our ambassador to other prospective gymnasts and will be able to travel the world first class though out your training. "

I was still a bit apprehensive. There were a few kinks to be worked out and a few details I was unsure about.

I opened my mouth, but Aro interrupted me again. He took my hand and as though reading my thoughts, reassured me.

"There are of course details to be worked out, but perhaps a trial period would prudent? I have already cleared it with your coordinators."

I took in his reassuring expression and the emotionless ones of his business partners who had thus far given a whole new meaning to 'silent partners' as they had yet to say a word.

My mind was racing weighing the possibilities of affirmation or declination.

My mind paused on a single thought: Edward.

I had known all along that there needed to be a change. I knew that despite all of the good intentions in the world, we would not be able to peacefully coexist. Forks was too small a town to contain our past and my dashed hopes for our future. At least not for the time being anyway.

And I couldn't keep him from his family. He belonged with them and had already spent too much time apart from them.

This could be the answer I was looking for. And a probationary trial couldn't hurt, could it?

As his face flashed across my mind's eye, my decision was made.

If you love something set it free right? I would not only set Edward free, I would keep him free at all costs.

"When do I start?"

A.N. Google Olga Korbut because I cannot do her justice even if I wrote a whole chapter on her. Let's just say she revolutionized gymnastics. But do google her and there are some amazing videos on youtube of her.


	38. Miss ya, Love ya

Okay guys here is two chapters in one. This is to make up for my inexcusable delay between updates. I will say that I got in a fight with my computer and it was winning for awhile so when I finally got it back up all of the chapter had been deleted.

Oh good news though, a certain couple that we love is going to come to their senses very very soon, like next chapter soon. I know it took forever but I hope it is worth it.

R AND R

Meg

Edward Pov:

She came closer and I couldn't believe my eyes or my luck. She paused barely a hairsbreadths away and I enveloped her in my arms. I ran my hands down her muscular body and met her waiting lips. My heart began racing as she pulled away to take off her shirt. She smiled into our kiss and I swore my heart would stop all together as she ripped the buttons off my shirt in her quest to tear it off.

"I'm ready," she whispered into my ear before nibbling on my earlobe.

I looked into her eyes and saw the lust and passion that was confirmation to my unasked question.

Her hands moved to my belt and all concerns, all thoughts of being a gentleman, all of the it's too risky crap, went right out the window.

I pulled her lips back to mine and….

_I'm so, I'm so lonely for her  
(And when the rain comes)  
I'm so, I'm so lonely for her  
(It'll fall and that's okay)  
I'm so, I'm so lonely for her  
(And when the sun comes out)  
I'm so, I'm so lonely for her  
(It's gonna be a beautiful day)  
I'm so, I'm so lonely for her  
I'm so, I'm so lonely for her_

I groaned and hit the snooze button on my portable iPod alarm clock. The irony of the song's lyrics didn't escape me as burrowed under the covers in a vain attempt to get a few more minutes of sleep and hopefully fall back into that dream.

But the bright sunlight and the haunting knowledge that a dream was all it would ever be forced me out of bed and onto my first day training under the Volturi Method.

Bella Pov:

"I can't believe you said yes to them!" Kaity R exclaimed.

Jake who was sitting with his arms wrapped around her gave me a look that was full of understanding, but underlined by disappointment.

I knew exactly what message that looked conveyed. He knew that this was what I needed to do for myself, but he was going to miss me and was angry that I was giving up that easily.

"It's just something I have to do. And besides it's not like I sold my soul to the devil or anything, I just agreed to a trial. Can't you understand that I need to at least try this?'

I pleaded with my eyes, hoping to convey the drive that had made me accept Aro's proposition. It was something that I didn't wholly understand myself but I was going with my intuition regardless of how clichéd it was.

Something in my expression must have caused her to concede because the next thing she said was, "Fine, but you can't wear that leo there."

I looked down at my red, white, and blue leotard that had the USA logo in the center of my chest.

I looked at her questioningly.

"You are wearing a team USA leotard to your new Italian training center," she qualified.

She had a point there, so I dug through my clothes until I found the one non USA leotard that I had brought with me.

It was a sparkly black leotard with a pink rhinestone ribbon across the chest. It was one of my favorite leotards because its proceeds went towards breast cancer research.

After I had gotten Kaity's approval (it was like rooming with Alice all over again), I headed to my first trial practice.

My schedule had worked out perfectly, almost too perfectly actually. Today was the men's team competition, and tomorrow was the men's individual finals, so I had the next two days off. Perfect time for me to train on a trial basis, it was kind of weird how the timing had worked out, but I wasn't complaining.

I pulled open the door to the gym and paused in shock.

The place was huge and even more high tech than Carlisle's gym. It was about three times the size as well, which is saying something.  
There were three floor areas, two sets of five balance beams, six sets of uneven bars, three vaults, removable floors that opened to foam pits, tumble tracks, multiple trampolines, a second floor that contained opulent viewing areas, as well as a tricked out conditioning center, and so much more.

I collected myself and entered the gymnastics heaven.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan," I said to a woman wearing a red polo that had the logo VEATA (Volterra Elite Athletic Training Academy).

"I know who you are," she sneered. "You better realize now that you won't get any special treatment from us because of your accolades."

"I…I… I don't expect any special treatment, nor do I want any. I want to be treated like everyone else, no better, and no worse."

I was surprised at my ability to stand up for myself, I guess I had changed a lot more in the last year than I had realized.

Before she could say anything else, I heard my name called in Aro's distinctive accent.

"My dear, we are so excited you are here," he told me. "We just want to see what you are capable of today so feel free to do everything the way you normally do."

I nodded and headed off to stretch for day one.

I learned a lot about my new training center that first day. One, only floor music and classical music was allowed, and your floor music better be classical. No iPods and NO rock music. Second the gymnasts took lessons in a building right next door to the gym, and since they lived within blocks, they were rarely far from the gym. Third, they were good. Whatever training methods were being employed there, were definitely making a difference.

Day two was a little different, and not in a good way.

The day started out nice, tough certainly, but nice.

After stretching, we ran five miles with ankle, waist, and wrist weights.

Then it was on to conditioning central. That's where it started going wrong. Not the conditioning itself, though it was tough since I still wasn't in top shape, but nothing unmanageable. No, it was the way everything was done.

Everything was a competition. It was a good strategy to think of everyday of training as competition, but it was presented badly.

It was more like punishment for your weaknesses and little reward for strengths. For example when we were running suicides, (we would break into groups and run starting to each segment of the mat and back until we had made it all the way to the other end and back to start) it was a normal training technique with an added twist.

Each group raced and the last person in each group had to do a whole set of conditioning exercises and as you went down to the winner the less set of exercises you had to do. Then there were chin up competitions, push up competitions, who could hold handstands longer, etc. And the person who won each got to decide how many the people who lost had to do extra, which was fostering some bad feelings between the gymnasts.

And that was just the conditioning, that part wasn't so bad. It was a bit of a culture shock but nothing that was too insane.

There was a line between tough and crazy, and some of these coaches were flirting with that line. I watched as a coach reduced a girl to hysterical tears and made her run laps for those tears after she had stuck a perfect full twisting front tuck on beam for the first time but had hesitated on the entry.

And that was another thing. No tears what-so-ever or any signs of weakness. Tears were not generally encouraged in gymnastics as crying was considered a weakness, but everyone just has a day that is too frustrating to cope with. I had seen some of the toughest competitors I know burst into tears in the gym because they had had an off day, or week, or were fighting an injury that would have ended the career of most athletes.

All of that I could have overlooked, but there was just no sense of family there. None of the coaches were looking out for their charge's well being, only insomuch that they were able to compete. There was no adjustment to get the best out of each girl. Everyone had to conform to their style of training or they were done. In my opinion they were losing a lot of potential talent that way.

For instance since I didn't have to do school work while I was there, I stayed in the gym while the other girls took their lessons.

The coaches wanted me to work on a quad twist on floor. Since Nastia Liukin retired, I would be the only female gymnast in the world to compete it at the moment. I had tried it before but wasn't secure enough to stick a three and a half consistently. I agreed to try it and was shocked when they wanted me to start on the floor first; no extra mats, no spotting, no tumble track, no tramp, no foam pit, nothing.

I probably would have fought for the extra security, if not for Jane.

She was the only other gymnast in the gym at the moment because she had her GED and therefore didn't need to study. She seemed to hate me for some reason. I guess maybe she felt threatened. She had apparently been the best before I showed up and we had fought for each win on all of the conditioning and had been pretty even, but all of the younger gymnasts were fawning over me and that seemed to push her buttons.

For the last two days she had been glaring at me in a way that if looks could kill, I would be very dead. I had been ignoring her death glares and I had thought I was impervious to it, but when she bumped into me whispering "chicken," I knew I had to gun it.

I stood in the corner of the mat and broke each piece down in my head. I was what my old coach affectionately called a head case gymnast. No matter how many times I performed a skill, I needed to break it all down in my head.

Like for a back handspring. Every time I went to practice one I thought: stand tall, arms locked, sit, jump, arch, block off, snap down, and finish tall.

These mental cues helped me greatly. It reminded me of each little part and made everything seem less difficult broken down. It also was the reason that my form was usually as close to perfect as I could get it, because it caused me to focus on the parts and not just the trick itself.

The only thing was in competition I needed to clear my head and trust that my body knew what it was doing from muscle memory.

I took a deep breath and jumped into my run. I knew that I had to be powerful from the beginning to get enough momentum for the four twists.

I hurdled into my roundoff, back handspring entry, and coming out of the back handspring I pushed off the floor with my feet with as much power as I could. I tightened each muscle in my body and crossed my arms across my chest for the least resistance possible.

I flew, twisting once, twice, three times, and just managed to turn my body a final time before loosening as I my feet hit the ground.

I stumbled a little but overall was proud of my accomplishment. Okay, I was flying over the moon about it, but I tried to stay professional.

My happy bubble burst with the barrage of criticism that followed my if-I-do-say-so-myself, amazing quadruple twisting full.

They had me practice it over and over again until I felt I could not do one more. Some were good, more were bad, but there was definitely progress.

I was beginning to warm up to their training techniques (I mean no one else had ever managed to teach me a quad twist), but then there was the final blow.

We had been broken up into groups and sent to different apparatuses. Jane and I were on bars. I had run through my routine and was preparing for my dismount. As I released the bar, spinning through the air, I spotted for the ground.

What I caught was Jane moving the mat. Too late for me to safely pull out of the flip, I had to finish it. I managed to flip myself far enough out that I landed on the edge of the mat. It still wasn't enough to keep me from landing on my back but at least it kept me from injury.

I just stayed there trying to catch my breath and she burst into laughter. Something inside me just snapped.

I leapt to my feet.

"What the hell was that? I could have gotten seriously hurt with this stupid stunt!"

"What?" she smirked. "The mat moving all by itself?"

Before I could say anything, one of the nicer coaches Gianna came over.

"Girls what is the problem."

I cut Jane off before she could lie her way out of trouble.

"Jane moved the mat when I was going for my dismount," I explained.

"Jane is that true? You know that how dangerous that can be. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do it," she swore, and if I didn't know she had done it, I might have believed her.

The coach seemed to know her well enough to not buy it though. She beckoned to another gymnast who had been near us waiting for her turn on bars.

"Carmen, did you see what happened? Did Jane move the mat?"

The girl nodded meekly, and I smiled my thanks. Before the issue could be resolved however, Jane's brother Alec, who also trained there, stepped in.

"My sister did not do anything," he stated.

"How the hell would you know? You were across the gym. This is ridiculous. She has been gunning for me since I got here, and I am sick of it. I did nothing to her and she is trying to screw me over!"

"Ms. Swan, language! I will investigate this matter further and in the meantime, both of you are to run ten miles and then you are excused from practice."

Jane and I glared at each other, but we both took our punishment without complaint. It would have been in vain to argue, but we both knew this wasn't over.

When I got back to my room, I knew that I needed to do something. I realized now what I knew all along, training in Italy was not for me. I belonged back in Forks, whether in Jake's little gym or in Carlisle's gymnastics palace.

I had made an agreement though. I had promised to train for three days here before deciding, and I was a woman of my word. Plus I didn't want Jane to think she ran me off. She deserved a taste of her own medicine, but I had to be careful of what I did. First of all I would never risk hurting another gymnast, and second of all I wasn't going to sink to her level of rudeness.

Now that I knew what I wanted, I needed to come up with a plan of action. I wasn't good at that kind of thing but I knew a few people who could help.

The first two were easily accessible, but the third I would have to bite the bullet and push away my pride and pain.

I dialed a familiar, but recently unused number on my phone. "Alice, I'm really sorry about the last couple months, but I wasn't myself. "

I shook off her protests, and continued.

"I need your help."

I didn't realize how much I had missed my best friend until she answered. "Bella, I'll be right over. Oh, and Bella, I love you like a sister," she said.

"Love you like a sister," I said ending the call.

So here is the deal I have been writing this story for about two years now, and I am dying with it. I need inspiration to keep this story going. SO PLEASE HELP BY REVIEWING. I know I don't deserve it for being a crappy updater, but RL and computer troubles have made it hard, and the conundrum of writing the same storyline for so long isn't helping. So truce? If you guys try reviewing more, I promise to get updates out faster.


	39. Love Story

Oww typing with rips hurts! But I am writing anyway to thank you guys. I want to say thank you for the AMAZING support. Keep it up guys! Okay so I have finished this chapter a little while ago, but it SUCKED! I am not kidding it was horrible, so everyone say thanks to APuppyCalledLeah, for letting me know how bad it was and helping save my ass by helping to fix it. This is actually two chapters in one because I felt this chapter had more to it so I wrote the second one and put them together. Yet again asking for a polyvore person, anyone? And there is someone that I owe something to that never got back to me so please let me know.

XOXO

Meg

P.S. Who saw Alicia Sacramone kick ASS at the Covergirl Classic. This chapter is dedicated to her amazingness and tenacity coming back from a two year retirement, shoulder surgery, and being robbed at the Olympics.

I got dressed quickly and giggled at the leotard I was wearing. It's was one Kaity's that she bought from that leotard store in Seattle. She had lent it to me today. It said: WARNING GYMNAST, and on the other side: MAY FLIP AT ANY TIME!

It made me laugh and I knew it would make a splash. I only hoped that our plan would work.

I hurried out the door and to the gym hoping to get there in enough time to lay the groundwork. Jogging through the door I spotted Jane and plopped myself down next to her to start stretching.

"Hey. I just wanted to apologize for our misunderstanding yesterday," I said as sincerely as I could.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as she glared at me incredulously. "Sure," she said uncertainly. I could tell that she didn't mean it as I caught sight of the malicious look on her face as I leaned down to touch my nose to my knees.

Phase one complete.

I left my spot on the floor to one at the edge of the floor mat. There were stacks of mats there with gymnastics in splits, one leg on the stacked mat to over extend their splits. I joined them chatting jovially as I waited for phase two to commence.

Phase two began when Alice entered the gym. I knew exactly when she arrived even though I was facing the other direction because of Aro's carrying voice. He was elated that Alice Cullen was looking to train at his gym. I could understand his enthusiasm. If Alice left Carlisle to train here, not only was Aro gaining the Olympic All-Around Silver Medalist/ World Champion, it would also seem that he was better than the coach who was considered the best in the world. My defection was one thing, but Alice leaving her dad was something completely different.

Alice would have free reign in here today, something that I was counting on.

I gave Alice my best withering glare when she accidentally on purpose slammed into my shoulder.

Jane caught sight of our little exchange and she approached Alice.

"Alice Cullen. Hi I am Jane Smith."

Alice smiled brightly. "Hi! Jane. I am thinking of training here, do you think you could give me the 411 on the place? You know, maybe be my training buddy for the day."

"I don't know," Jane's hesitance was plain, and the reason for it was revealed as she glanced in my direction. It was clear she knew we had been friends and teammates and didn't want to work with someone who was friendly with me.

"Oh, her?" Alice scoffed. "Don't even get me started on her. She is not even worth it. And besides she is so washed up it is not even funny."

I quickly turned my head to hide my smirk. Forget gymnastics, or dancing, Alice should be an actress.

Jane and Alice headed off to beam where I was also relegated, and so phase two was complete.

The rest of the practice went exactly as planned. It was completely uneventful except for Jane's sabotage attempts, which I was kind of expecting.

Edward Pov:

"I feel like I am choking," I said aloud to myself. I was standing in front of the mirror in my room attempting to adjust my bow tie to a comfortable position. The effort was futile.

Giving up I slid my room key, cell phone, and iPod into the pockets of my tux before leaving my room. I headed towards the huge ballroom in the Volturi's palatial housing center.

I didn't particularly want to go to this ball, but I had a sliver of hope that I would see Bella there. Of course I would respect her wishes and keep my distance, but I wanted to see her once more before I made my final decision regarding Aro's offer.

I arrived fairly early and grabbed a flute of some type of sparkling water and skulked in a corner. The room quickly began to fill up. I saw my parents across the room talking to some friends of theirs, and waved.

Bella had still not arrived and I was growing anxious that she wasn't coming.

Just then the double set of doors opening to the central staircase opened and a gasp went through the room.

Bella Pov:

"Suck it in Bella!"

"I am sucking it in, there is nothing left to suck in," I managed to hiss between my clenched teeth.

"There, perfect!" Alice exclaimed and Kaity R nodded her agreement.

I turned to the mirror, and had to admit that I looked good. Good enough that I could almost discount the fact that I could barely breathe.

The beautiful red dress Alice had forced upon me was amazing. The two wide straps laid perfectly just on the edge of my shoulders. They cut down widely so that a darker panel was visible just above my corset enhanced chest. The light red, sequined piece of the bodice tapered off to the side and merged into a deeper blood red color that gradually lightened as it draped to the floor. It was tight enough to hug every curve I had, but still loose enough to flow around me as I moved incredulously in front of the full length mirror.

"Isn't that worth it?" Alice asked smugly.

The dark haired beauty with flowing curls smirked at the mirror. "I don't know Alice. This whole corset thing is not me. Maybe I will just change."

Alice grew horrified at the teasing. "No! You look beautiful and I know you don't really need the corset, but I think it makes the dress fit perfectly! Please, don't change."

I turned from the mirror laughing. "I'm just teasing you Als!"

She smiled in relief but before she could say anything there was a knock on the door. "You ladies decent?" Jacob called through the door.

Kaity went to let him in and the second the door was open I sprang at him. "Do you have it?"

He held up a small keychain with a USB drive attached to it. "I have you covered girl," he told me. "Man does your ass owe me!"

I jumped on his back (quite a feat in a floor length dress and three inch heels) and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Lifetime of servitude up for grabs," I countered.

Alice's eyes narrowed as she watched this exchange but quickly relaxed as Jake bent to kiss Kaity on the lips.

"Come on," she announced. "I have to head back for DWTS tomorrow morning and I don't want to miss a single second of tonight."

I should have been worried about the glimmer in her eyes, but I played it off as excitement for our plan. Boy was I wrong.

Edward Pov:

The orchestra stuck up a stately march and no other sound was heard. Aro, Caius, and Marcus entered through the double door as a striking trio, but it was who followed them that caused the gasps.

Resplendent in a deep red dress that hugged her curves and her dark hair tumbling about her in soft curls, was Bella.

She gracefully descended the steps, one hand trailing lightly along the center rail. She was reminiscent of princesses that might have once inhabited this castle. In short she was beautiful, and she was walking right towards me.

Or at least that is what I thought. At the last second she made a sweeping turn and followed Aro and his partners up the small steps to a dais.

I wanted to smack myself. Have you ever felt like Karma was trying to make you into a fool? Karma wasn't just trying with me, it was succeeding.

Bella Pov:

I was like a princess from a fairy tale, flowing down a double set of stairs after a double door entrance. I was even trailing my hand along the railing, although that was mainly to make sure I didn't trip in my heels- I was so used to being barefoot, that heels still weren't the best idea for me.

To sum it all up, basically I looked and felt ridiculous.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I made it down the stairs without falling before it was stolen from me by the sight of Edward looking debonair in a tuxedo.

Oh God, Oh God, I thought to myself. I kept walking closer and closer to him following Aro, Marcus, and Caius and just when I feared I would have to walk right into him, Aro turned and instead we headed towards a small dais. Jane was just behind me and I was cautious to make sure she didn't try to trip me. Okay I might be a little paranoid, but with this girl can anyone blame me?

Aro was handed a microphone and began to speak. I was a little nervous to speak in front of a crowd this big, but nonetheless determined.

"Welcome to Volterra! I would like to thank you all, athletes, coaches, and esteemed guests, for participating in the inaugural Volturi Swimming and Gymnastics Invitational. You have all had a part in its success. Tonight is a special night as it is the feast of Saint Marcus. According to legend, today, April 25 (an. I am using St. Mark's actual feast day because it fits the story timeline better, but am following canon for the legend) is the day Saint Marcus drove the evil vampires from this town."

Aro's voice deepened mysteriously as he mentioned the evil vampires. Then just as quick he was back to his normal jovial tone. "Since that day Volterra has been free from evil and able to prosper into the new city and sports capital of the world that it is becoming. Here in Volterra we celebrate this feast day by wearing red and black the colors of our patron saint, Saint Marcus. So I welcome you all to the first annual Red and Black Ball.

And on this special occasion, we have a special guest speaker. Please welcome Isabella Swan!"

That was my cue. It seemed like fate was finally on my side when Aro had asked me to speak tonight on behalf of the athletes.

I stepped up to the microphone and smiled graciously until the applause died down.

"Thank you. Some of you may know me but for those who don't I am Isabella Swan. I am the current Olympic All-Around Gold Medalist for Gymnastics. I am very honored that I was asked to speak tonight and promise to make it brief because I know you are all looking forward to the wonderful evening that has been planned for us. I would like to begin by thanking our gracious hosts and everyone who has worked for months to make the Volturi Swimming and Gymnastics Invitational a reality. "

I gestured around at the magnificently arrayed ballroom. I clapped and the others joined in. When the room was once again silent, I pressed on with my speech.

"When I was thinking about what I would say tonight, I came to the realization I am not a very good public speaker," I waited for the light laughter to finish before I continued. "So when I was sitting there thinking about what I could say I thought back on the very first lesson I learned as a gymnast. It is a lesson that applies to every sport and endeavor in life. It is a lesson that this entire competition is based on. The lesson that I am talking about it what it means to be a champion. Being a champion is not just winning. No being a champion encompasses so much more. A champion is a role model, a good sport, a person who gives everything they have for what they love, and then they give more. Champions never give up no matter what is thrown at them. Each and every one of you has shown the champion in you over the last few days, and I challenge you to continue showing your inner champion for the rest of the world to see. While I was here I was given the opportunity to train with some real champions. And before I introduce you to one, I want to leave you with this quote: **Champions** risk what others dare not. Dream what others think impossible. Does what others say can't be done. Thank you and continue to be the champions I know you all are. Without further ado, Jane Smith!"

I handed the microphone over to Jane and smiled at the tumultuous applause.

She tried to speak, but had to stop three times to wait for the applause to die down.

"Hello esteemed guests. My name is Jane Smith and I am the elected speaker for the Volturi Women's Gymnastics team. We have put together a slideshow of footage from the last week. You will see triumphs and bloopers as well as interviews from your fellow athletes and fans. So enjoy because they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is about ten thousand pictures, trust me I would know," she joked in her cutesy voice.

I simultaneously almost laughed and puked; I knew for a fact she had done nothing for the project but was elected by Aro to present it, and I almost threw up because of her cute act. No matter though, in a few minutes no one would think she was cute.

A screen was lowered and a video began to play. The soundtrack included songs like We Are the Champions, We Will Rock You, I Gotta Feeling, and many other inspirational songs.

The slideshow was a mix of pictures and videos of the athletes competing, hanging out, some from the parade; some were just pictures from around Volterra, and finally athlete interviews. It was right in the middle that it happened. The screen flickered and went dark before refocusing on a video clip of Jane's many attempts to sabotage me. One where she was moving the vault spring board slightly to the side, another where she purposely shook the beam while I was performing a full twisting back tuck, and a few others. On top of this was a recording that had been skillfully recorded by Alice. "Isabella Swan is going down! I will do whatever it takes to make sure she is no longer on top. I am the better gymnast and once she is gone everyone will see that…"

Jane jumped up and signaled the A.V. crew to cut the video. She was obviously flustered.

"I have no clue how this got on the video. It's fake it was planted! She is trying to sabotage me!"

With her exclamation she pointed at me. My face was suitable shocked, and innocent.

Someone spoke up. "It seems as though you were trying to sabotage her, not the other way around. In fact you could have injured or killed her with those stunts!"

I looked for who had spoken and recognized one of the head judges for the meet.

Another gymnast from the Volterra team stepped up to the stage and managed to get the slideshow and crowd back on track. I watched as Jane was escorted from the room by a very incensed Aro, and an embarrassed coach.

Instantly I felt bad that I had done it, but in my own defense she had to be stopped before she hurt someone. And this was the nicest plan that I could come up with since the coaches didn't believe me.

After the slideshow debacle the ball went on without a hitch. I found myself in a corner being slightly overwhelmed for some reason. I wasn't a big fan of big gatherings as it was, I preferred to spend time with a close group of friends, but I had grown accustomed to them over the years. For some reason tonight it just felt as though it was all too much.

It was in that corner that Esme found me. "Bella my dear!" She came forward as though to hug me but hesitated. I didn't allow that though, I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug.

"Esme, I am so sorry. I…"

She stopped me with a wave of her hand. "I will not have any of that. I know the gist of what happened, and my idiot son is to blame. You have nothing to apologize for. But if I may ask, is there no chance of you forgiving him?"

"I have forgiven him. I understand his reasons for leaving me, and I am respecting his decision by allowing him his space now that he is back. I have missed you terribly though and you are wrong I do have something to apologize for, I shouldn't have cut you out completely. It was just too hard for me to deal with then."

"Oh, sweetheart! No, don't you think that. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you. I heard you quit gymnastics all together for awhile. I wanted to visit you so much, but I did not want to hurt you anymore than you were already hurting. But I know you are stronger than that, and the fact that you are here competing just proves that to me. I wish you would realize though that Edward is still in love with you. He regrets leaving you and told me that he only did it in a stupid misguided attempt to keep you safe. I always knew he took after his father in the dumb self-martyring department."

I smiled sadly at her. "Maybe that was once true, but I know that he has moved on and I am trying to do the same."

She shook her head at me, and returned my smile. "Ah, you are both too stubborn for your own good. But I will respect your feelings. I hope they change, but I understand if you have been hurt too badly to forgive him. I just want you to know two things: one he really does love you, despite everything he has done I know he does. And also know that you are always welcome in our home regardless of whether you are with Edward and training with Carlisle or not. We consider you part of the family. "

I think we were both tearing up a little at this point. We hugged wordlessly and she walked away.

I felt too overwhelmed at that point. I needed some air. Spotting an open balcony, tucked away from the view of most of the ballroom, I made my way over to it and sighed in relief as I stepped out into the cool night air.

It was about ten o'clock and the moon and stars were shining brightly. The tea lights placed throughout the garden below me helped illuminated the velvet darkness of the Italian spring night.

I heard a noise behind me and jumped as Alice joined me on the balcony. "Well our plan worked," I said, turning back to the view below me.

"Yes it did. And now I hope this plan works too."

I whipped around just in time to see her closing the balcony doors. I heard a click as they were locked. I growled in desperation as I pounded on the door. I knew it was in vain though as the music and sounds coming from the ballroom were too loud for me to be heard over.

I gave up just as I heard a hauntingly familiar voice.

"Mom what are you doing? Why are we out here? Wait don't leave me out here! Mom! You are going to let me back in sometime you know!"

When this garnered him no response, I heard a thud and a curse.

I giggled and his eyes shot up. "It's no use, no one can hear us over that noise. Besides I figure they have to let us back in at some point. Unless… you don't think they are going to leave us out here all night do you? They can't right?"

He let me babble myself into silence. I looked deep in his eyes, something that I hadn't allowed myself to do the last time we met and that was all it took. I swear my heart stopped beating for a second as I melted in his deep soulful eyes.

He chuckled quietly and I bristled, insulted.  
"Your _**laughing**__, _I can't believe you are laughing after everything you put me through, you are laughing you…!"

He cut me off before I got on a roll. Basically he cut me off right before I got to the point where nothing would have stopped me.

"No, I was just thinking here…. I can show you better than I can tell you.

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?  
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.  
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,  
Who is already sick and pale with grief,  
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.  
Be not her maid, since she is envious;  
Her vestal livery is but sick and green  
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.  
It is my lady, O, it is my love!  
O', that she knew she were!"

I just about melted when he quoted Romeo and Juliet.

"Oh Romeo, Romeo. Thou are definitely not Romeo," I answered back with a flippant air. I caught onto what had made him laugh. Italian city, night of a ball, out on a garden balcony… sound familiar?

"You're right. I am no Romeo, but he did have some good ideas."

With that Edward leapt and grabbed hold of the trellis.

"Edward, ummm…"

"Don't worry Bella. This is perfectly safeeeeeeee!" _Crack!_

The entire trellis that Edward had been using to climb up had broken sending both itself and Edward tumbling to the ground.  
"Edward!" I exclaimed, running down the circular, stone staircase that was attached to one side of the balcony.

"Are you alright?" I questioned anxiously.  
"Yeah, fine. Just the wind knocked out of me. You were worried?" he asked, the dim lighting unable to conceal the hope in his eyes.  
"No, I was worried about the trellis," I lied horribly. "Okay, I was worried. Even though we aren't together anymore I still do care about you."

I have no clue what made me elucidate that, but in the apparent magic of the garden, my soul was bared.

Edward held my eyes, his were searching but I had no idea what he would find in mine.  
Still holding me captive with his eyes, Edward stood slowly, and reached out a hand to pull me up.  
I took his hand, and the hold he held on me broke as my gaze jumped to our entwined hands.  
Clichéd as it sounds, it seemed as though there was an electric current pulsing between us.

Still keeping hold of my hand, he pulled it up and placed it around his neck. When he was sure I wouldn't move it, he slid his hand down to rest on my waist. His other hand was still gripping mine.

Strains of music filtered out from the ballroom. It was an orchestral version of Taylor Swift's Love Song.

We slowly began moving together.

"Edward, I." I bowed my head, unable to look him in the eyes and be lost again.

"Shh, don't think just feel." He raised my chin with our entwined hands.

And for the first time in so many months, I let go of all barriers and let my emotions wash over me.

I knew that we had a lot to work through, and we weren't ready to be a couple again, but there would be time for that later. For now I just wanted to lose myself in the magic of the moment.

Double layout with a full twist- crazy ass move!

18507677477 sallie mae fax social security card and drivers license.


	40. Phoenix

_**PLEASE READ!**_ I have most of Bella's floor routine made up and partially recorded so if someone knows how to make a polyvo re I can put it up. Okay so I have some bad news. I am NOT dropping this story, however I leave for orientation in a few days, and then I am off for my first semester of college in London, England. Therefore I do not know when I will get another update up. I will try to have one written before I leave, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in the day. So to make it up to you when I get to writing again I am also going to add another outtake to this story that is made by you the readers. I am going to do an interview of 'Bella' and you guys get to send in the questions for her. You can ask anything from gymnastics questions to personal ones. Whoever asks the question I like best will get a surprise so include questions in your reviews. I really hope you enjoy this chapter it was hard to get it right and I felt you guys deserved the best for this.

Meg : R AND R please!

I woke up the next morning to a strong dose of reality. It was like waking up from an amazing night with a killer hangover, or so I assume since I have never experienced one. My fairytale of an evening didn't end with a happily ever after and a kiss, but with unanswered questions instead.

There was no denying that we both needed each other and we were done pretending otherwise, but there was too much history to just ignore.

Last night was just too perfect to ruin with questions, but we had to get through them soon, before they ruined what we had managed to salvage.

I jumped out of bed to get dressed quickly. I needed answers and I needed them now. I threw on white leggings, a jean skirt and a pale blue baby doll t-shirt. I chucked my USA team jacket along with the rest of my stuff into my bag. Glancing at the dead asleep Kaity, I wrote a note so she wouldn't worry.

I slid my sneakers on at the door and then opened it slipping quietly into the hallway. I hadn't taken a step before I banged right into someone. I looked up to see who that person was and saw... Edward?

"Speak of the devil," I muttered.

"Excuse me?" he questioned, not hearing what I said. Before I could answer he chuckled.

At my inquisitive glance he elaborated, "We match." I looked over and saw his light jeans and light blue t-shirt. I laughed as well, but it quickly died out. I tried to break the awkward silence.

"Good morning," I said with a shy smile.

"Good morning to you too Bella," he told me politely. "I bet you are wondering why I am here. Well I figured we had some things to work out and if you don't mind I thought we would make a day of it?"

"Sure… wait I can't I have training."

"All taken care of. I hope you don't mind but my dad helped me convince Bela that you needed a break."

"Aro?" I asked slyly. There was no way he thought to clear that with him.

"Aro thinks this is a great idea. We are going to get a look around and I believe he thinks it might tempt us to stay."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it when I couldn't think of any other questions.

He smiled slightly at me, and gestured with his arm. "Shall we?"

For once in my life I didn't think, I just followed.

I followed him to a small train station where we were just in time to catch the 8:08 train. I caught sight of where we were heading on the ticket.

"Venice?" I questioned.

"Yes, I figured we could talk on the hour or so train ride and then we could have some fun."

We grew silent and I knew that the time I had dreaded and anticipated in equal measures had come.

"Why…"

"Bella…"

We began to speak at the same time.

I stayed quiet allowing him to start first.

"I have been the most unmitigated ass. There is so much I wish I could tell you. I wish there was just a way to explain so you would understand why I did what I did. If you would let me I would tell you I was sorry until I was blue in the face, but I know you won't let me and I know that it doesn't change anything. I can be sorry as I want, and trust me I am beyond apologetic, but it doesn't change the fact that I left you. I do want you to understand that I honestly did think I was protecting you. It was the deepest blasphemy when I said I didn't love you and I was moving on. The truth is that I was so afraid that us being together would hurt you. I loved you; I still love you, so much that I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you, especially if it was because of me. So I told you I was moving on in hope that you would be able to do just that. But I was so miserable. No one could stand to be around me and I preferred it that way. I didn't deserve anyone's company." Edward ran his hands through his hair in the habit I had always found endearing.

"I was so misguided in my attempt to protect you that I didn't realize that I was who was hurting you. And not just you, I felt like I was slowly dying inside, and I hurt so many others like Alice and my mom too. The worst part is that I have no one to blame for all the pain but myself. I allowed my very erroneous inner martyr take control without pausing to take stock of the cost."

He paused to take a breath.

"There is no excuse for I did, the only explanation that I can even offer is that love is not just blind, it is bloody stupid and I am a prime example. I don't know whether it is even possible for you to forgive me, and honestly I can't blame you if you don't, but I am begging you to at least try. I know it is way more than I deserve, but I love you and I need you. So Isabella Swan, please tell a poor sucker if he has a shot in hell for a second chance?"

His eyes pleaded with me.

I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. I had so much I needed to say but I didn't know how to start.

"I forgive you Edward. I forgive you for everything and I know that you were truly thinking with your heart and not your head. But at this point I think it is past all of that. You are right; all of your apologies and my forgiveness are not going to fix everything that happened. And you are not the only one who was wrong. I allowed myself to give up, and when you tried to explain I shut you down. I too was stupid enough to think that you would be better off if I let you go. I convinced myself you were feeling guilty and that is why you approached me. So I thought it would be better if I was friendly towards you and no more. I had thought that if I pretended that what we had was inconsequential, wasn't something that didn't eclipse everything else, that I could get over you and maybe one day we could coexist without it being a knife in my heart. But I was wrong."

I looked down at my down at my hands. "When I was with you, you made me so strong. You took all of my doubts away, and you made me feel like I could do anything, that I was on top of the world. And when you left me…"

Edward opened his mouth to interrupt me, but I held up my hand to hold him off.

"I thought that I had lost that strength but now I know that I always had that strength inside me and you just brought it out. "

As I continued talking I grew more confident. I met his eyes as I began to speak more fervently.

"Without you I don't want a thousand gold medals, a hundred championship titles. I don't want to be on top of the world, because the top of the world is lonely when you don't have someone to share it with, and I can't think of anyone else I would rather share it with. I don't care what it takes or what I have to give up because I am tired of staying away from you Edward. I'm yours forever, and no one and nothing can change that. I just don't know exactly where this leaves us."

A single tear escaped his eyes and joined mine.

"I don't know where this leaves us either, but I know that I will do everything in my power to keep us together. Just tell me what I need to do." Edward leaned closer to me, resting a hand on either side of my legs.

The emotion shining through his eyes was reflected in mine.

For an endless amount of time we just gazed into each other's eyes and the silence was one filled with emotion.

It was like we were two magnets being pulled toward each other. Eyes still locked we were close enough that I could feel his cool breath blowing across my face.

When we were so close our lips were almost touching, I began to panic. Pulling back quickly, I almost caused Edward to fall off of his seat.

"I'm sorry," I cried. "I'm so so sorry. I can't… I just…" I broke down sobbing.

"Shh… sweetheart, it's okay," Edward soothed me. He enfolded me in his arms and began rubbing my back comfortingly.

"No, it's not okay," I managed once I was calm.

"It is I will wait until you are ready. It will be fine," he assured.

I looked once again into his captivating eyes and saw pure certainty there.

"Aren't you scared?" I whispered.

"Bella," he answered. "Didn't you once tell me that fear is just excitement in need of an attitude adjustment?"

When I said nothing he sighed before continuing, "Yes I am scared. I am so scared that I can barely think straight. But it doesn't matter because I love you too much. Our love is so powerful that it can destroy us, it almost did. We are such a part of each other that we can hurt ourselves far worse than anything or anyone else can. It's worth the risk though because what we have is too much to give up for a little bit of fear, I know that now. My way didn't work out before so we are going to do this your way."

"We'll take it slow?" I asked.

"As slow as you need," he promised.

We sat for a few minutes in silence before he slid close to me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Is this okay?"

"Perfect," I said, snuggling into his embrace.

The rest of the day was as close to perfect as it could be.

I even broke my diet a little and ate a plate of spaghetti because as Edward said, "We're in Italy; you have to eat some pasta."

We were the penultimate tourists. We even took a romantic

Gondola ride as the sun was setting.

At the end of the day we parted in the lobby with a very non-platonic hug.

My room was empty when I reached it. I collapsed on my bed and pulled a set of pictures out of my bag. Neither of us had remembered our cameras so we had purchased one of the disposable instant Polaroid cameras.

My absolute favorite was one that had been taken without our knowledge. We had given the gondolier the camera to take a few pictures of us on our ride. He had gotten some great ones of us snuggling and smiling in the gondola, but he had captured a moment that was so candid and real. The gondolier had missed his calling. He should have been a photographer.

When the ride was over Edward had jumped out and extended his hand for me.

The moment captured was just perfect. My hand was delicately place over his, my face was angled up and his was angled down so our eyes met. The background was fiery in the setting sun, reducing our forms to haloed shadows.

It was beautiful and a perfect representation of our relationship. We were like a phoenix rising from the ashes; stronger and brighter.

I heard a light knock on my door. Getting up I was surprised to find Edward there.

Before I could say anything he enfolded me in a hug that robbed me of my breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just wanted to make sure this was real. I just wanted to reassure myself that I could hold you in my arms."He released me, looking down almost as if he was afraid of my reaction.

Acting purely on instinct, I stretched up on my toes to lace my fingers through his hair. I pulled his face towards mine and kissed him with as much emotion as I could.

He started to pull back, but I didn't give him the chance to. I just tightened my grip with one hand while pulling his hand around my waist with the other.

With a groan he gave in and began to kiss me back in earnest.

I felt emotion welling up inside me, and I knew I was right where I belonged.


End file.
